The initial meeting between Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan is etched in their memories. The memorable incident took place when Cooper, co-starring with Mulligan in the 2023 film "Maestro," attended her solo performance of Dennis Kelly's "Girls & Boys" in 2018. The encounter became unforgettable as Mulligan sustained an injury on stage during the play.

Cooper recounted the incident on a recent episode of "The Graham Norton Show," describing how he visited Mulligan backstage after the play, finding her lying down due to an injury inflicted by one of the sets hitting her on the head midway through the performance.

"I returned and inquired, 'Are you okay?'" he recalled.

"She was clearly not okay at all," he continued. "So, we ended up heading to the emergency room."

Mulligan shared with host Graham Norton that the audience remained oblivious to the incident, as it took place during a planned stage lighting blackout. Despite the mishap, she soldiered on, only to be overwhelmed with tears after the performance.

"I just couldn't stop crying, thinking I was truly in a dire situation," she confided in Norton. "With a head injury, you start imagining the worst. I was sobbing on the floor when someone came in and said, 'Sorry, so sorry — Bradley Cooper is here.'"

She added, "He entered, looked me in the eyes, and said, 'You're not all right.' That's when we decided to go to the emergency room."

At that time, both Cooper, who directed "A Star Is Born" in 2018, and Mulligan, with an Oscar nomination to her name, were already well-known, making their joint hospital visit all the more unexpected.

"Mulligan shared with Norton, 'The nurse was thrilled.' This incident is not the sole occasion where Cooper has come to the assistance of a beloved actor. Brooke Shields recently disclosed that he supported her through a 'surreal' seizure episode in New York City last year.

Cooper was also present when Mulligan, who was pregnant at the time, needed medical attention on the set of 'Maestro.' Portraying Felicia Montealegre, the wife of composer Leonard Bernstein, Mulligan humorously forgot her appearance when the doctor arrived.

'I was quite unwell on set, and a doctor was called to administer antibiotics,' she informed Norton.

'When I mentioned I was 12 weeks pregnant, he wasn't entirely convinced,' Mulligan added, pointing out that she was 'still made up to look 57 years old.'

'I couldn't wait to tell the makeup artists how good they were,' she joked.

Both Mulligan and Cooper secured Oscar nominations on Tuesday for 'Maestro,' with Mulligan receiving a Best Actress nod and Cooper, who directed the film, earning nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Picture. The awards ceremony is scheduled to air on March 10 on ABC."