Actor BRADLEY COOPER cherishes the time he spent making THE A-TEAM because his late father shot a bit part for the film before he passed away.

Charles Cooper lost his battle with cancer in January, 2011 at the age of 71, and his death devastated the Oscar nominee.

But Cooper will always have something to remember him by after landing his dad a cameo in the 2010 action movie.

He tells U.S. TV host Katie Couric, "Joe Carnahan, the director of The A-Team, he came up with this idea that when we were getting court marshalled, the admirals court was (going to be) Joe's father, then my father, and then an actor. And of course Joe's father and my father just kept talking. (They) improvised the hell out of the scene... The camera guy's like, 'What's happening right now?'"

Couric then aired a clip of Charles' scene and the actor struggled to remain composed, adding, "He was very sick then... He was such a huge Irishman and I always remember his wrists were so thick and then seeing that, cancer's a hell of a disease. It's incredible how it transformed him."