10 Cloverfield Lane kicks off with a tense phone call between protagonist Michelle and her ex-fiancé Ben, who is played by none other than Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper. But even though he is a high profile actor, Cooper is only heard and not seen in his brief role. Here's a breakdown of how his 10 Cloverfield Lane cameo role came to be.

The spiritual sequel to Cloverfield follows Michelle as she wakes up in an underground bunker following a car crash. She winds up in the company of two men named Emmett and Howard, who inform her that a nuclear attack has taken place above ground. Michelle becomes increasingly suspicious and is not sure who she can trust.

Related: The Classic Horror Movie that Inspired 10 Cloverfield Lane

Michelle's car crash triggered the chain of events in 10 Cloverfield Lane, and it probably would not have happened if she wasn't distracted by her call with Ben. It made a statement to have an A-list actor lend his voice for such an important scene. Cooper's cameo as Ben set the tense and paranoid atmosphere that defines the film. However, despite being a relatively minor detail, the scene wouldn't have been possible if it weren't thanks to his relationship with someone in the Cloverfield universe.

J.J. Abrams Arranged Bradley Cooper's Cameo Role

JJ Abrams Cloverfield

Cloverfield producer J.J. Abrams is the reason why Bradley Cooper's 10 Cloverfield Lane cameo happened. Abrams cast a young and green Cooper in his espionage thriller Alias back in 2001. The show helped jump-start Cooper's career, leading him to become the A-list director and actor that he's known to be today. At one point during the filming of 10 Cloverfield Lane, director Dan Trachtenberg realized the voice of Ben had not yet been cast. Numerous crew members were willing to lend their voice, along with Trachtenberg himself. Abrams suggested it'd be worth it to get Cooper on the phone to see if he was willing to do the brief role, and the rest is history.

Ben's role was a small, but vital one in 10 Cloverfield Lane. The movie drips in tension and paranoia, and that tone is established early on during Michelle's call with Ben. She's on edge for the entirety of the movie, and that phone call started it. Horror movies traditionally lead off with their protagonists in a happier place before things go downhill. Trachtenberg made the active decision to subvert horror movie tropes and introduce Michelle in a more stressful place in her life, and that phone call was the perfect way to accomplish such a feeling. Casting a talented actor like Bradley Cooper in that brief cameo elicited a strong enough performance to start 10 Cloverfield Lane off on the right foot.

More: Cloverfield 2: Why A Direct Sequel Is The Only Way To Save The Franchise