Saldana: Cooper 'Absolutely' Earned Spirit Nom

Actress Zoe Saldana was one of three stars to emcee the Independent Spirit Awards nominations in Hollywood on Tuesday, and one of the standout nominees this year was none other than the star's on-again/off-again beau Bradley Cooper.

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The former Sexiest Man Alive earned a Best Male Lead nod for his film Silver Linings Playbook alongside director David O. Russell and co-star Jennifer Lawrence, who were given nominations for Best Feature and Best Female Lead for the feature, respectively.

"That was a movie that was so excellent," praised Saldana, who agreed that the film's five collective nominations this morning were "absolutely" merited. "They deserve to get every recognition possible."

Check out the entire list of Independent Spirit Nominations here.

Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 23, 2013 and broadcast that night at 10 p.m. on IFC.