Bradley Cooper asked Jessica Biel for career advice

BRADLEY COOPER turned to his THE A-TEAM co-star JESSICA BIEL for advice when he was deliberating whether to take the lead role in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.

The Hangover star is tipped for success during the upcoming Hollywood awards season for his role as a mental health patient in David O. Russell's new movie.

However, Cooper admits he was initially unsure whether to take the job, so he asked his friend Biel for her opinion knowing she had worked with the director on stalled film project Nailed, which has never been released.

He tells Deadline.com, "The reputation that preceded him for me was stellar. I spoke to Jessica Biel, who I'd been on The A-Team with, and I said, 'You know, I think I might do this David O'Russell movie,' and she said, 'Run. Don't walk to that.'

"She did a movie that never even came out with him, actually, and she loved him."

Biel started work on Nailed, about a woman fighting for better healthcare after being shot in the head with a nail gun, in 2008 but the project was halted due to numerous production problems. The film remains unfinished.