Video: Bradley Cooper's Uncle Ernie Helped Robert De Niro Nail Down His Philly Accent in "Silver Linings Playbook"

I swear Bradley Cooper is trying to flip me. Funny, nice hair, Eagles fan… now this: Coop (pet name) was on Letterman last night talking about his new movie, Silver Linings Playbook, which debuts next week. And as you probably already know, the movie was filmed mostly in the Philly area (Delco) and features Robert De Niro as Cooper’s Eagles-obsessed father. Cooper explained to Letterman how Bobby D picked up his Philly accent for the movie:

My uncle, who is a heating and air conditioning repairman– I had my family all over when we were shooting the movie. Robert De Niro said, “Bradley, can I have your uncle read my lines?” I thought, “oh my God.” So, we’re in a hotel room. My Uncle Ernie is sitting there on a couch, Robert De Niro is next to him, [reading his lines]. They went through the whole script, the entire script. At one point, I literally could not stop laughing. My uncle is a tough guy, hands like catcher’s mitts, and he’s getting it from both sides [De Niro and director]. The Philadelphia mentality… when we walked out, my uncle goes, “We’ll see if he does it as good.”

Awesome. But you’d think maybe Coop could throw some money Uncle Ernie’s way? Dude’s slaving around the HVAC industry while his nephew is on late night talk shows being ridiculously good-looking. Sad, man.

Video after the jump.