Footage from Bradley Cooper's new film "The Maestro" has been released

Bradley Cooper has transformed himself into Leonard Bernstein, the famous conductor and composer of "West Side Story" for the filming of "Maestro". Netflix has published several shots where you can see the actor changed beyond recognition.

One photo shows Bradley and Carey Mulligan (who plays Bernstein's wife, actress Felicia Montealegre) laughing, leaning against each other. And a second photo from the set shows the director lining up a shot on camera. Other photos show Cooper in makeup and a "fat suit" (a suit that increases the size of his body).

Shooting of the "Maestro" is the actor's return to the director's chair after his 2018 debut, "A Star Is Born." In a conversation with Variety in January, he hinted at filming a new picture, explaining that he "dreamed of being a conductor since I was a kid." "I was fascinated, asking Santa Claus for a conductor's wand since I was 8 years old. I listened to music and fell in love with it; I could recognize, literally, any moment from such works as "Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35" by Tchaikovsky. I could do it as if I knew everything about it, of course, without knowing the language (of music).".