Actor (and Georgetown grad) Bradley Cooper let his wonky side show Friday, by appearing at the think tank Center for American Progress for a discussion on mental illness. Cooper's character in the movie "Silver Linings Playbook" is bipolar, something that Cooper said he didn't know much about before appearing in the film. "I'm here by accident," he told reporters. "And I think if I could do one thing, it is to raise awareness, because I was ignorant before I did this movie."

Cooper noted that while it would be hard to mimic his experience of playing a mentally ill man in a feature film, there's things that normal people can do. "I can ask everyone to be open to not walking away from somebody or turning away from somebody who you might feel uncomfortable around because I got to experience what those who suffer from mental illness experience by playing this character," he said. "Who, by the way, my mother thinks is very much like me," he added to laughs. Cooper appeared alongside Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who briefly talked about his own mental illness, and also focused on the returning troops.

Cooper also spent time with members of the military, visiting Walter Reed Thursday night for a screening of his film. The actor was also spotted dining late night back in Georgetown, at the restaurant Cafe Milano.