Gary Cooper (May 7, 1901- May 13, 1961) was an American film actor known for his natural, authentic, and understated acting style and screen performances. His career spanned thirty-six years, from 1925 to 1961, and included leading roles in eighty-four feature films. He was a major movie star from the end of the silent film era through to the end of the golden age of Classical Hollywood. His screen persona appealed strongly to both men and women, and his range of performances included roles in most major movie genres. Cooper's ability to project his own personality onto the characters he played contributed to his natural and authentic appearance on screen. Throughout his career, he sustained a screen persona that represented the ideal American hero.
Academy Awards
Best Actor
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Known For
Wings
(1927)
Cadet White
High Noon
(1952)
Marshal Will Kane
Sergeant York
(1941)
Alvin C. York
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Howard Roark
The Westerner
(1940)
Cole Harden
For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1943)
Robert Jordan
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Benjamin Trane
Unconquered
(1947)
Captain Christopher Holden
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
(1925)
Roman Guard (uncredited)
Friendly Persuasion
(1956)
Jess Birdwell
Alice in Wonderland
(1933)
White Knight
The Pride of the Yankees
(1942)
Henry Louis 'Lou' Gehrig
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936)
Longfellow Deeds
Man of the West
(1958)
Link Jones
Meet John Doe
(1941)
Long John Willoughby
A Farewell to Arms
(1932)
Lt. Frederic Henry
Full Filmography
Acting
North Star
(1925)
Townsman (uncredited)
Dick Turpin
(1925)
Crowd Extra (uncredited)
The Trail Rider
(1925)
Rider (uncredited)
Wild Horse Mesa
(1925)
Cowboy
Riders of the Purple Sage
(1925)
Rider (uncredited)
The Thundering Herd
(1925)
Buffalo Hunter (uncredited)
Warrior Gap
(1925)
Bit part
The Lucky Horseshoe
(1925)
Unknown-Doubtful (uncredited)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
(1925)
Roman Guard (uncredited)
Tricks
(1925)
Rider (uncredited)
The Drug Store Cowboy
(1925)
Cowboy Whose Horse is Being Shod (uncredited)
The Eagle
(1925)
Masked Cossack (uncredited)
The Vanishing American
(1925)
(uncredited)
Old Ironsides
(1926)
Seaman (uncredited)
Lightnin' Flashes
(1926)
(uncredited)
A Six Shootin' Romance
(1926)
(uncredited)
Three Pals
(1926)
Car Driver Flirting with Betty
The Johnstown Flood
(1926)
Flood Survivor (uncredited)
The Winning of Barbara Worth
(1926)
Abe Lee
Lightnin' Wins
(1926)
Tom Harding
Wings
(1927)
Cadet White
Arizona Bound
(1927)
Dave Saulter
Children of Divorce
(1927)
Edward D. 'Ted' Larrabee
It
(1927)
Newspaper Reporter (uncredited)
The Last Outlaw
(1927)
Sheriff Buddy Hale
Nevada
(1927)
Nevada
Beau Sabreur
(1928)
Maj. Henri de Beaujolais
The Legion of the Condemned
(1928)
Gale Price
Half a Bride
(1928)
Capt. Edmunds
Doomsday
(1928)
Arnold Furze
The Shopworn Angel
(1928)
William Tyler
Lilac Time
(1928)
Capt. Philip Blythe
The First Kiss
(1928)
Mulligan Talbot
Betrayal
(1929)
Andre Frey
Wolf Song
(1929)
Sam Lash
The Virginian
(1929)
The Virginian
The Spoilers
(1930)
Roy Glenister
Morocco
(1930)
Légionnaire Tom Brown
The Texan
(1930)
Enrique, aka 'Quico,' The Llano Kid
Only the Brave
(1930)
Capt. James Braydon
Paramount on Parade
(1930)
Hunter (Dream Girl)
A Man from Wyoming
(1930)
Jim Baker
Seven Days Leave
(1930)
Kenneth Dowey
Galas de la Paramount
(1930)
Self (from original version)
The Stolen Jools
(1931)
Newspaper Editor
His Woman
(1931)
Captain Sam Whalan
City Streets
(1931)
The Kid
I Take This Woman
(1931)
Tom McNair
Fighting Caravans
(1931)
Clint Belmet
The Devil and the Deep
(1932)
Lt. Sempter
A Farewell to Arms
(1932)
Lt. Frederic Henry
Hollywood on Parade
(1932)
Self
Make Me a Star
(1932)
Gary Cooper (uncredited)
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Steve Gallagher
Alice in Wonderland
(1933)
White Knight
One Sunday Afternoon
(1933)
Biff Grimes
Hollywood on Parade No. B-5
(1933)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Today We Live
(1933)
Richard Bogard
Design for Living
(1933)
George Curtis
Now and Forever
(1934)
Jerome 'Jerry' Day
The Hollywood Gad-About
(1934)
Self (uncredited)
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
(1934)
Self
Operator 13
(1934)
Captain Jack Gailliard
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
(1935)
Alan McGregor
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
(1935)
Self
Peter Ibbetson
(1935)
Peter Ibbetson
The Wedding Night
(1935)
Tony Barrett
The General Died at Dawn
(1936)
O'Hara
Hollywood Boulevard
(1936)
Gary Cooper - Actor at Trocadero Bar (uncredited)
Desire
(1936)
Tom Bradley
The Plainsman
(1936)
Wild Bill Hickok
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936)
Longfellow Deeds
Souls at Sea
(1937)
Michael 'Nuggin' Taylor
The Cowboy and the Lady
(1938)
Stretch Willoughby
The Adventures of Marco Polo
(1938)
Marco Polo
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
(1938)
Michael Brandon
The Real Glory
(1939)
Doctor Canavan
Beau Geste
(1939)
Beau Geste
North West Mounted Police
(1940)
Dusty Rivers
The Westerner
(1940)
Cole Harden
Sergeant York
(1941)
Alvin C. York
Ball of Fire
(1941)
Professor Bertram Potts
Breakdowns of 1941
(1941)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Meet John Doe
(1941)
Long John Willoughby
The Pride of the Yankees
(1942)
Henry Louis 'Lou' Gehrig
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 3
(1942)
Self
The Voice That Thrilled the World
(1943)
Self (segment 'Sergeant York') (archive footage)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1943)
Robert Jordan
The Story of Dr. Wassell
(1944)
Dr. Corydon M. Wassell
Breakdowns of 1944
(1944)
Self
Casanova Brown
(1944)
Casanova (Cass) Brown
Memo for Joe
(1944)
Self
Along Came Jones
(1945)
Melody Jones
Saratoga Trunk
(1945)
Colonel Clint Maroon
The Army Nurse
(1945)
Self (archive footage)
Cloak and Dagger
(1946)
Prof. Alvah Jesper
Variety Girl
(1947)
Gary Cooper
Unconquered
(1947)
Captain Christopher Holden
Good Sam
(1948)
Sam Clayton
It's a Great Feeling
(1949)
Gary Cooper (uncredited)
Task Force
(1949)
Jonathan L. Scott
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Howard Roark
Snow Carnival
(1949)
Self - Narrator
Breakdowns of 1949
(1949)
Self
Dallas
(1950)
Blayde Hollister
Bright Leaf
(1950)
Brant Royle
You're in the Navy Now
(1951)
Lt. John W. Harkness
Starlift
(1951)
Gary Cooper
It's a Big Country
(1951)
Texas
Distant Drums
(1951)
Capt. Quincy Wyatt
Springfield Rifle
(1952)
Maj. Alex 'Lex' Kearney
High Noon
(1952)
Marshal Will Kane
Return to Paradise
(1953)
Mr. Morgan
Blowing Wild
(1953)
Jeff Dawson
Garden of Evil
(1954)
Hooker
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Benjamin Trane
Boom on Paris
(1954)
Self
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
(1955)
Col. Billy Mitchell
Friendly Persuasion
(1956)
Jess Birdwell
Love in the Afternoon
(1957)
Frank Flannagan
Ten North Frederick
(1958)
Joseph B. 'Joe' Chapin
Man of the West
(1958)
Link Jones
The Wreck of the Mary Deare
(1959)
Gideon Patch
They Came to Cordura
(1959)
Major Thomas Thorn
Alias Jesse James
(1959)
Cowboy
The Hanging Tree
(1959)
Dr. Joseph "Doc" Frail
The Real West
(1960)
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
(1960)
Self
The 10 from Texas
(1961)
(archive footage)
The Naked Edge
(1961)
George Radcliffe
The Love Goddesses
(1965)
(archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
(1975)
Self (archive footage)
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
(1977)
Beau Geste (archive footage)
Showbiz Goes to War
(1982)
(archive footage)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
(1982)
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(1984)
(archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
(1985)
Self (archive footage)
Grace Kelly: The American Princess
(1987)
Self (archive footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
(1988)
Self (archive footage)
Gary Cooper: American Life, American Legend
(1989)
Self (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
(1991)
Self (archive footage)
Movie Tough Guys
(1991)
Self (archive footage)
Citizen Cohn
(1992)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
(1996)
Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
(1997)
Self (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
(1997)
Self (archive footage)
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
(1998)
Self / Various roles (archive footage)
Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl
(1999)
Self / Various Roles (archive footage)
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
(2001)
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
(2003)
Self (archive footage)
Paris Hilton Inc.: The Selling of Celebrity
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Production
Crew