Bradley Cooper is crediting Christian Bale for inspiring his “American Sniper” performance. Cooper, who co-starred with Bale in David O. Russell’s “American Hustle,” said during the “Howard Stern Show” that he emulated Bale’s acting technique to portray real-life Texas-born Navy Seal Chris Kyle.

Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” was released in 2015, two years after Cooper witnessed Bale’s “American Hustle” approach for the 2013 film. Bale famously Method acts, and according to Cooper, it was revolutionary to see how Bale built his performance while staying in character.

“So Christian Bale, I’m doing ‘American Hustle.’ I meet Christian Bale, I’m a big fan. And we’re sitting there, we do the table read,” Cooper said. “He’s from England. He’s Welsh, I think. He’s got his own accent. He’s reading it. He breaks into this guy, Irving Rosenfeld, who’s this Jewish guy from Long Island or the Bronx.