Bradley Cooper set for Broadway revival of The Elephant Man

Bradley Cooper is returning to Broadway after eight years to play The Elephant Man.

The American Hustle star is reprising his role of the severely deformed John Merrick, nearly two years after he starred in the play at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts.

Cooper was last seen on Broadway in 2006, when he appeared opposite fellow 2014 Oscar nominee Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd in Three Days of Rain.

Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man last hit the Great White Way in 2002, when Billy Crudup earned a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of Merrick.

Ironically, Cooper's American Hustle co-star Alessandro Nivola played Dr. Treves in the 2012 production alongside Cooper.

Producers previously hoped to open Cooper's The Elephant Man on Broadway last year (13), but it will now hit the stage in the autumn (14).