Cooper will be seen in the forthcoming Netflix film Maestro as American composer Leonard Bernstein.

The plot revolves around Bernstein’s marriage to Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).

In the teaser clip, the 48-year-old Irish-Italian actor is seen with a substantially broader nose.

The use of a prosthetic nose to represent the Jewish Bernstein has sparked some controversy.

According to Jewish actor Tracy-Ann Oberman, who has been in Doctor Who, Cooper donning the nose is similar to blackface or yellowface.

“If Bradley Cooper can play the Elephant Man without any prosthetics, he should be able to play a Jewish man without any prosthetics – especially a ‘Jewish’ nose,” she remarked.

“If he has to wear a prosthetic nose, that is the equivalent of Black-Face or Yellow-Face to me and many others.”

Bernstein’s family, on the other hand, has suddenly come out in support of Cooper.

“It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of [Cooper’s] efforts,” they stated in a statement posted online.

“It’s true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose.” Bradley opted to apply make-up to emphasize his similarity, which we approve of. We’re also confident that our father would have approved.

“Any strident complaints about this issue strike us first and foremost as deceptive attempts to bring a successful person down a notch—a practice we saw all too frequently perpetrated on our own father.”

“Throughout the production of this film, we could sense Bradley’s profound respect and, yes, love for Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia.” We consider ourselves really lucky to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the rest of the world to witness his invention.”

Bernstein’s children’s statement also mentions that they were consulted throughout the creative process.

They stated, “We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration.”

Maestro will have a limited theatrical release on November 22nd before reaching Netflix on December 20th.