MEN in their 30s who still live with their parents have a new and entirely unexpected role model: the Oscar-nominated Hollywood heart-throb Bradley Cooper.

The dashing star of Silver Linings Playbook and The Place Beyond to the Pines has revealed that he moved back in with his mother Gloria two years ago, after the death of his 71-year-old father, Charles. Cooper told Details magazine there were some "complications" living in the next room to his mother, but described her as "a cool chick", adding: "We can hang, and she can roll with the punches."

Not all mothers need to be "cool chicks" for their sons to remain "permanent mummy's boys," says The Independent. "For many, it's the prospect of free rent, a full fridge and a laundry service."

Free board and freshly-ironed underpants aren't likely to be major draw cards for Cooper who is rumoured to be getting $15 million to appear in Hangover 3. A bigger question – as many men who live with their mother will know - is whether the 38-year-old is allowed to bring girls home. Cooper is currently dating the 20-year-old British model Suki Waterhouse, says the New York Daily News, but so far he has not revealed if Gloria is "cool" about sleepovers.

Hopefully she is, because the actor is reportedly "seriously smitten" with the blonde model. "They're in constant contact and are trying to spend as much time together as they can in-between work," a source said.

The website MSN Now sounds a warning to 30-something men who live at home and now feel entitled to compare their lifestyle to Cooper's. The fact that the actor moved home after the death of his father from cancer makes his decision admirable rather than, erm, pathetic; he could easily be nominated for 'Most Thoughtful and Empathetic Son Alive', it says.

Crucially, Cooper's lifestyle shouldn't be confused with the kind of men who still live with their parents because it saves them having to cook, do the laundry or pack up their collection of Star Wars memorabilia.