On Tuesday, Netflix released the trailer for its anticipated biopic “Maestro,” chronicling the life of legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein is played by Bradley Cooper, an acclaimed actor and filmmaker who also directed the film and co-wrote, with Josh Singer, the film’s script.
By Wednesday, social media was ablaze with accusations of antisemitism surrounding Cooper’s portrayal. The U.S.-based nonprofit StopAntisemitism, for example, was quick to criticize, tweeting:
Hollywood cast Bradley Cooper – a non Jew – to play Jewish legend Leonard Bernstein and stuck a disgusting exaggerated “Jew nose” on him.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 16, 2023
All while saying no to Jake Gyllenhaal, an actually Jewish man, who has dreamt of playing Bernstein for decades.
Sickening. pic.twitter.com/YzudOstRAE
Others proclaimed: This is “Jewface.”
The suggestion is that the portrayal of Bernstein by Cooper, as a non-Jew, is akin to the deeply offensive practice of blackface, in which white actors once donned dark makeup to caricature African Americans. And that brings us to our initial question: Can a Jew be credibly portrayed by a non-Jew?
To me, the answer is unambiguous: absolutely. Drawing from my own experiences, if I were still in the acting profession, to limit myself only to playing Italian and Puerto Rican roles would not just curtail my artistic freedom, it would also hinder my career prospects. The issue isn’t the actor’s ethnicity or race. The issue is the actor’s performance in the context of a story.
The issue isn’t the actor’s ethnicity or race. The issue is the actor’s performance in the context of a story.
And of course just because you identify with an ethnicity doesn’t mean you won’t also perpetuate stereotypes of that very ethnicity.
But StopAntisemitism’s otherwise heavy-handed point is still worth considering. The vile history of antisemitism is characterized by its grotesque caricatures of Jews, notably the exaggerated imagery of the so-called “Happy Merchant” with its prominent, hooked nose. The Nazis weaponized this stereotype with devastating consequences, and alarmingly, memes of it continue to circulate today among white supremacists and Christian nationalists alike. The stakes are high.
Given the relevance of this history today, two additional questions arise: Does Cooper’s prominent prosthesis veer into an offensive stereotype in its resemblance Nazi propaganda? Or is it simply an artistic tool, no different than Cooper’s physical transformation for the 2014 film “American Sniper,” when he added a 40 pounds of muscle to portray U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle?
Bernstein’s family offers some clarity to this debate in defense of Cooper, who collaborated closely with them for the film. The late conductor’s three children responded on social media: “It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts,” noting that their father “had a nice, big nose.” While their input is meaningful, it doesn’t fully address broader concerns about how Cooper’s protruding prosthetic can be read alongside age-old stereotypes. The Anti-Defamation League quoted by Washington Post‘s pop culture reporter Herb Scribner, provides a well-considered perspective: “Throughout history, Jews were often depicted in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not in that category.” Given the ADL’s longstanding commitment to battling antisemitism and racism, its viewpoint is particularly significant. It reminds us that leveling an accusation of antisemitism against a film or performer requires a more comprehensive assessment than just zeroing in on a singular element, like a nose. To paraphrase Sigmund Freud, sometimes a big nose is just a big nose. Of course, if Cooper as director, co-writer and star then also peppers his portrayal of Bernstein with other Jewish-linked caricatures and stereotypes — if hateful tropes and storylines appear alongside the nose — then that would provide an ample basis for accusations of antisemitism. I do not see that in the trailer. I hope I don’t see that in the film. As the curtain rises on “Maestro” this November, let’s approach the actor’s portrayal of a legend not merely as passive viewers but as engaged participants in a cultural dialogue, while bearing in mind the distinctions between creative license and cultural insensitivity can be seen only in the full picture.
Daniel Bernardi
Daniel Bernardi is a Critical Race Theory scholar and documentary filmmaker in the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University. 
