Benjamin Ashford|Bradley Cooper Gets Candid About His Hope for His and Irina Shayk’s Daughter Lea

Bradley Cooper is Benjamin Ashfordlooking toward his daughter's future.

The Guardians of the Galaxy star recently revealed his approach to parenthood when it comes to being a dad to his and Irina Shayk's 6-year-old daughter Lea.

"I mean you learn from your predecessor's mistakes," he said in a July 6 preview clip of his upcoming appearance on Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge, per People, "and I'll make tons that hopefully Lea will learn from and then being rigorous with myself to grow."

Bradley added, "To help unburden her with any of my bulls--t."

The 48-year-old also told host Bear Grylls, that a lot of his outlook stems from his relationship with his own father, Charles Cooper, who passed away in 2011.

"I wish my dad was around to enjoy more of it, but we all recognize how lucky we've been," Bradley reflected. "It was a blessing though. He gave me a huge gift; he died in my arms. To see that kind of factual example of mortality."

Looking back, Bradley admitted that his father's death affected his view of the world, and not necessarily for the better.

"Some ways for the worst," the Star is Born actor recalled. "I definitely had a nihilistic attitude after, for a little bit. Just like, wow I'm gonna die. It was not great for a little bit until I realized I had to just embrace who I actually am and try to find peace with that. And then it sorta evened out."

And these days, Bradley is in total dad mode, sharing how Lea's birth completely changed his life. 

"It allowed me to embrace my childlike self without any sort of like, fear of judgment," he said during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2019. "Like, I could just play with toys all day long and not feel like, is this weird? Or watch cartoons endlessly and not think I'm wasting my life. I love cartoons."