Chris Cooper in Married Life Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

READ MORE: Married Life review

From American Beauty to Adaptation, Seabiscuit to Syriana, Chris Cooper is never showy, rarely even scene-stealing, but he leaves an indelible mark on all of his films. And after years of meticulous, considered decisions to work with directors like John Sayles, Joel Schumacher, Robert Redford and Sam Mendes, this very picky actor (he turns down most scripts that are offered to him) made the leap to leading man in last year's Breach, playing true-life American traitor Robert Hanssen. He's also got top billing in the forthcoming Married Life, Ira Sachs' 1940s-set crime drama about an adulterous salesman convinced that murdering his wife is better than putting her through the humiliation of a divorce. Co-starring Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams and Patricia Clarkson, it's the sort of old-fashioned drama they rarely make these days, which is precisely why Cooper loved it.

Having seen Married Life for the first time, what did you think of it?
I was very, very happy with it. I'd seen an earlier cut about four months ago and it just hadn't come together, so it was a pleasant surprise. And I'm so happy that audiences got the humor in it.

What was the difference between that early version and the final cut?
The director had a brand new opening with credits; he added a lot of new music; he brought back some scenes that the actors missed; he injected previous little shots at important moments to remind the audience, like the pouring of the poison into the aspirin bottle — just good reminders of what was up. And thank goodness for Pierce [Brosnan]: he really carried some difficult scenes and did a great job.

There's nice interplay between the two of you, especially as your characters are so different but also best friends.
It was nice. Ira's a very smart director and a puppet master; he set up evenings between Rachel [McAdams] and me before we shot, just so the actors could get to know each other. I know Patty [Clarkson] very well — we've worked together — but he'd set up dinner dates with Rachel and me and, another evening just before we began shooting, with Pierce and me. We had a really great evening together, just talking about family and our work, so that when the day came for us to work together, we already had a nice connection. There was just a little touch of history and it was very helpful.

You're renowned for reading a script several times before you decide whether the role is right for you…
I think you have to because you can certainly miss roles in reading a script just once and making a snap decision. No, I'm cautious.

So what was it about this one that caught your attention?
Having read scripts for years, a lot of it is gut instinct. I was the first actor aboard on this — which is kind of unusual — and I stayed with this script for a year and a half before we got into production. We had a lot of highs and lows in that year and a half. There were other actors who came aboard and, at the last minute, dropped out for whatever reason and there was a point where we thought that it was just not going to happen. I'm a person who does not have a string of jobs down the line, so I'd looked at a studio script — The Kingdom — and got on board with that, and then come to find that Pierce and Rachel and Patty all of a sudden had come on board. I still wanted to stay with this production, so for five months I was juggling The Kingdom and Married Life.