Cooper Koch

Cooper Joseph Koch was born on July 16, 1996, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, to a family involved in the film industry.^[1] His father, Billy Koch, who is of Jewish Russian descent,^[2] is the founder and owner of the horse racing club Little Red Feather and previously worked as a production assistant in numerous films.^[3][4][5] His mother, Kathy Kaehler, is a celebrity personal trainer.^[6] He has a twin brother, Payton Koch, who is a film editor, and a younger brother, Walker, who is a musician.^[7][8] His grandfather is film producer Hawk Koch, and his great-grandfather was film producer and director Howard W. Koch, both of whom served as presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[8][9][10] His paternal great-granduncle was Charles Pincus,^[a] a California dentist known for inventing the dental veneer in 1928.^[11] Koch's great-uncle is businessman and former Democratic politician Alan Blinken.^{[b][12][13][14]}

Koch began acting in local theater productions at the age of five.^[15] He later attended Calabasas High School, where he performed in various stage adaptations such as West Side Story and A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[16][4] He was also a member of the school's a cappella group and orchestra, where he played the viola, as well as the boys' volleyball varsity team.^[17] In May 2018, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from Pace University.^[8]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Koch made his on-screen debut with a background role in the 2007 film Fracture, which was produced by his grandfather, Hawk Koch.^[8] In 2010, he appeared in the music video for "Ordinary Girl" by Miley Cyrus (performing as her character, Hannah Montana).^[18] From 2017 to 2021, Koch primarily appeared in short films and stage productions. He had a guest role in the episode "Forty Candles" of the comedy series West 40s (2018),^[19] and he was cast in Hulu's series adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel Less than Zero, although the pilot was not picked up.^[20][21] In 2019, he starred in the Off-off-Broadway play Head First, for which he won the award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play at the Fresh Fruit Festival.^[22][23] He later starred in the television film A New York Christmas Wedding (2020), playing Azrael Gabison, a guardian angel who shows a woman an alternate version of her life.^[24] He also appeared in two episodes of the crime drama series Power Book II: Ghost.^[25]

In 2022, Koch starred in Carter Smith's body horror film Swallowed,^[26] which earned the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 NewFest.^[27] He portrayed Benjamin, an aspiring gay pornographic actor who is forced to smuggle mysterious drugs by swallowing them.^[28] That same year, he starred in the Blumhouse Productions slasher film They/Them, playing Stu, a closeted gay jock who attends an LGBTQ conversion therapy camp.^[29][30]

Koch first auditioned for the role of convicted murderer Erik Menendez in the NBC limited series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders and the Lifetime television film Menendez: Blood Brothers (both 2017).^[31] He later earned the part in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (2024), the second season of Netflix's true crime anthology series Monster.^[32][33] His performance received critical acclaim, particularly in the fifth episode, "The Hurt Man", a 34-minute one-shot of Erik detailing the sexual abuse he suffered from his father.^[33] Critics highlighted his portrayal as one of the season's standout performances,^[34][35] and he received praise from Lyle and Erik Menendez.^[1] The role earned him nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.^[36]

In October 2024, Koch signed with United Talent Agency for representation.^[37] In July 2025, he was cast in an undisclosed role in Luca Guadagnino's upcoming biographical film Artificial, based on the brief dismissal of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI.^[38] In March 4, 2026, he starred in a presentation for a Broadway revival of the comedy play The Little Dog Laughed.^[39]

Other ventures

Koch has collaborated with various luxury brands such as Yves Saint Laurent,^[40] Tiffany & Co.,^[41] Armani,^[42][43] Ralph Lauren,^[44] Montblanc,^[45] Tod's,^[46] and Schiaparelli.^[47] In June 2024, he fronted Gap's summer collection alongside Japanese actress Kiko Mizuhara.^[48] In November 2024, he starred in the short film Togetherness, as part of a campaign by fashion house Yves Saint Laurent.^[40] In May 2025, he fronted Calvin Klein's Summer Essentials/Pride Month campaign.^[49][50] Koch was also formerly signed with Wilhelmina Models, for whom he modeled for Skechers and Patagonia.^[51][52]

Koch is gay; he came out during college and has spoken about experiencing difficulties with self-acceptance after being bullied during his youth.^[53][54] He has also said that early in his acting career he faced challenges obtaining roles due to his sexuality and his "gay voice".^[53] Since 2024, he has been in a relationship with filmmaker Stuart McClave.^[55][56]

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2007	Fracture	Kid		[8]
2017	Mine	Cody	Short film	[57]
2018	Me Da La Lata	Andreas Lousche		[58]
	The Latent	Matthew
	Decadeless	Richard		[19]
2019	Daddy	Bellhop
2021	4 Floors Up	The Stranger		[58]
2022	Swallowed	Benjamin		[59]
	They/Them	Stu		[30]
2026	Artificial †	TBA	Post-production	[38]

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Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2018	West 40s	Boy on train	Episode: "Forty Candles"	[19]
2019	Less Than Zero	Julian	Unaired TV pilot	[25]
2020	A New York Christmas Wedding	Azrael Gabison	TV Movie	[8]
	Power Book II: Ghost	Chase	2 episodes	[25]
2024	Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story	Erik Menendez	Lead role	[32]
2026	RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars	Himself / Guest judge	Episode: "Tournament of All Stars Talent Rumble"	[60]

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Theater

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Notes	Ref.
2019	Head First	Kyle	Wild Project	Off-off-Broadway	[22]

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Music video

More information Year, Song ...

Year	Song	Artist	Role	Ref.
2010	"Ordinary Girl"	Hannah Montana	Love interest	[18]
2015	"Reflection"	Towkio		[61]

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