Bradley Cooper found it "very easy" to work alongside Robert De Niro

He said: "It's very easy to act with Robert De Niro, and these were not easy scenes - they were very difficult scenes that were really effortless because he's just so good. He really is the best. And it was wonderful that he had a character to really sink his teeth into in this movie. He really mined every possible element with David O. Russell for Pat Sr."

'Silver Linings Playbook' sees Bradley star as hapless Pat Solitano, who grows close to Jennifer Lawrence's alter-ego Tiffany when he is trying to rebuild his life following a failed marriage - and the 'Limitless' actor admits the 22-year-old star was "special" to work with.

He added to FlicksandBits.com: "With Jennifer Lawrence, I'd never met her and I'd never seen 'Winters Bone.' But I was told that she was an incredible actress. There were a lot of women jockeying for that role, and she really wanted it. She's young, she's was only 21 at the time so I was like, 'Wow, she's going to play that character.' And I had one conversation with her on the phone and I knew right away that this was going to work, this dynamic was going to work. She's special."