Bradley Cooper may be new to fatherhood, but Ellen DeGeneres says she’s known for years that the actor would be a great dad.
In a Friday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cooper doesn’t talk about being a father — but that doesn’t stop DeGeneres, 59, from gushing about his parenting skills.
“I knew you’d be a good father when I saw you in American Sniper,” DeGeneres says, referring to the 2014 movie in which Cooper, 42, portrayed real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. “He’s so good with a baby.”
Cooper lets out a laugh — “I can’t believe you. We already went through this before,” he tells the host.
DeGeneres then shows a scene from the movie in which Cooper is seen holding a baby. She gets a kick out of the way Cooper uses his finger to move the child’s hand.
“It’s such a dramatic scene! And yet your little finger is … ,” DeGeneres says before bursting into a fit of laughter.
The interview is Cooper’s first full TV appearance since news broke last month that he and Irina Shayk had welcomed their first child, a daughter named Lea De Seine Shayk, on March 21 in Los Angeles. He briefly appeared on the show in April to joke about Ellen’s ongoing retweet challenge to a teen who requested free chicken nuggets.
A source confirmed the pregnancy to PEOPLE in November shortly after Shayk’s appearance on the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway.
The model and Silver Linings Playbook star have been dating since spring 2015.
