Meryl Streep has heaped praise on Bradley Cooper's directorial debut 'A Star Is Born'.

The Academy Award-winning actress has hailed Bradley's approach to the drama movie, saying it was made in a very ''self-assured'' fashion.

Meryl explained: ''It's so breezily shot and it's so self-assured. It's not actorly shot. [Some] actors who make the transition to directing, they give the actors too much air. They don't cut as brutally as you need to in order to move the story.

''To them, the character is more interesting than the forward movement of the story, the narrative. The movie's the thing. You're helping but the movie has to keep going. And Bradley ... he gave himself the stuff he needed and then he'd move off. ... kept it moving.

''He was on his own back a lot. I liked that. Made you in the thing. You were in the thing. Brilliant.''

Bradley - who also starred in the film - cast pop star Lady GaGa in the role of Ally Maine, a nightclub singer.

And Meryl, 69, told The Hollywood Reporter that ''nobody but Gaga'' could have fulfilled the role.

Meanwhile, Bradley recently admitted he relished the challenge of balancing acting and directing.

Reflecting on the experience of making 'A Star Is Born', the Hollywood star said: ''I've never been more fulfilled and have it feel more natural. I love acting, and I love acting and directing.''