Bradley Cooper: Why Bernstein nose row is complicated

Actors transforming themselves for roles is incredibly common - whether it involves changing their body, hair colour or even using prosthetics.

But Bradley Cooper's depiction of the late West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein attracted criticism in recent days over the size of his nose.

The first trailer for Maestro, released earlier this week, shows Cooper wearing make-up to make his nose look bigger

Bernstein's family members defended Cooper in a statement, saying they were "perfectly fine" with the Oscar-nominated actor's portrayal and that it "breaks our heart to see people... misunderstanding his efforts". Skip twitter

Cooper himself is not Jewish, which has drawn criticism and reignited a debate about casting which has plagued Hollywood for many years

whether or not characters from minority groups should only be played by actors who share the same attributes.

It's not yet known how heavily Bernstein's Jewish heritage will be featured in Maestro.

Critics have not yet reviewed the film, which premieres in Venice next month, and it is not released on Netflix until December.

Clein agrees that "the culture, the heritage, the experiences of being around Jewish women inform so much about that"