Leonard Bernstein, the makeup artist for the Bradley Cooper biopic The Maestro, apologized on Saturday for offending people by giving the main character a prosthetic nose, but said he only wanted authenticity, Reuters reported.

Bradley Cooper in the biopic “Maestro” Photo: NETFLIX / Planet / Profimedia

Bernstein, the son of Jewish immigrants to the United States, was a noted American conductor and composer who wrote classical music and hit musicals such as West Side Story.

Cooper directed, produced, co-wrote and starred in The Maestro, which opened in Venice on Saturday.

“I’m sorry I hurt some people’s feelings”

When the first trailer for the film was released last month, some critics complained that it poked its nose at Jewish stereotypes.

Bernstein died in 1990, but his grown children defended the make-up in the film, saying their father had a “big, beautiful nose”.

Cooper is not in Venice to present his Netflix production because of the Hollywood actors’ strike, which is hampering promotional work. But his makeup artist Kazu Hiro met the press and said he was surprised by the criticism about the nose.

“I’m sorry that I hurt some people’s feelings. My goal was, Bradley’s goal was to portray Lenny as authentically as possible, and Lenny had that iconic look that everyone knows. There are so many pictures. We wanted to respect and love that aspect,” he said.

Hiro said that when he portrayed the young Bernstein, it took two hours to fix Cooper’s nose, but up to five hours as the character aged.

Bernstein’s daughter Jamie said Cooper involved the family closely in developing the film, which focuses on the composer’s relationship with his wife, played by British actress Carey Mulligan, and his bisexuality.

“He decided to tell this very intimate story about our parents and really involved my brother, sister and I in his process. And, really, we didn’t expect it. I never dreamed that he would go out of his way to bring us into his process, and that he would go to such incredible lengths to maintain authenticity,” said Jamie Bernstein.

“Maestro” will be released on Netflix from December 20. It is one of 23 films competing for the Golden Lion trophy at the Venice Film Festival, which runs until September 9. (Source: News.ro)