LOS ANGELES: In the past five years, Bradley Cooper has played handsome leading men, a perm-coiffed 1970s cop, a sniper and a rogue raccoon. But playing a chef on a quest for a Michelin star in “Burnt” really turned the heat up on the actor.

“I had a background as a cook, and I thought I knew that world, but it scared me to pull off that level of a chef, and if something scares you, it’s usually a sign that you should do it,” Cooper told Reuters.

In “Burnt,” out in US theaters Friday, Cooper plays Adam Jones, a bad boy culinary genius led astray by the excesses of success. He’s given a chance to redeem himself of his drug-laced past and earn his third Michelin star with his own London restaurant.

To prepare for the role, Cooper, who speaks fluent French and showcases it in the film, spent time with top chefs including Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsey and Clare Smyth, the latter with whom Cooper did a service with one night.

The actor said he learned the art of plating food, and recognized how the “chef is a conductor” in a kitchen.

A chef’s quest for three Michelin stars is not like an actor striving for an Oscar, according to Cooper, who has been nominated for four of the honors in the past three years and is earning awards buzz again with this role.