Bradley Cooper may win an Emmy for his 2-minute cameo on ‘Abbott Elementary’
Cooper's quick cameo as himself in Melissa Schemmenti's classroom has been submitted for the renowned television awards.
Bradley Cooper doesn’t have an Oscar yet, but the actor is now eyeing an Emmy for his sweet-but-brief time on the beloved sitcom Abbott Elementary, where he played himself. According to Variety, ABC submitted Cooper for consideration in the category of outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.
In the show, Cooper, who grew up in Rydal and Jenkintown, was on his way to get a hoagie when he takes a detour and arrives at the titular school to participate in a student’s show-and-tell presentation. Sporting a Cassius Clay white bomber jacket, the actor answers questions from the kids who don’t recognize him.
The awkward teachers geek out and name their favorite Cooper movies before debating whether he was in Oppenheimer. (He wasn’t.) When Janine Teagues (showrunner and star Quinta Brunson) tells him she works at the district, he takes the opportunity to voice a pointed critique: “Oh you work at the school district? You know that these schools are criminally underfunded.”
Abbott has a star-studded track record of cameo appearances, from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to Philly-born comedian Kevin Hart to Taraji P. Henson, who plays Teagues’ mom. Hurts and Hart appeared virtually (on Zoom and FaceTime) in their respective episodes.
Under new rules from the Television Academy, only significant cameo performances are eligible for Emmy nods, with the stipulation that the actor’s minimum screen time is 5% of the episode’s runtime. For a 20-minute episode of Abbott, a guest actor would have to appear for a little over one minute. (Hart’s screen time also made him eligible, but Variety reports that ABC did not submit his cameo because it was virtual.)
In the episode “Willard R. Abbott,” Cooper hangs out in the classroom of teacher Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) for one minute and 56 seconds. That almost-two-minute moment just might be worthy of Emmy recognition.
Nominations will be announced July 17 and the 76th Emmy Awards ceremony will air Sept. 15.