Cooper Tomlinson
American actor and YouTuber
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Cooper Tomlinson is an American actor, comedian, producer, screenwriter, and YouTuber. He is best known for co-creating the sketch comedy YouTube channel "that's a bad idea", with Curry Barker. He starred in and co-produced the 2024 film Milk & Serial with Barker,[2] and, in 2025, he co-produced and starred as Ian in Barker's film, the box-office hit Obsession,[3][4] and starred in, co-wrote, and executive produced the upcoming film Anything but Ghosts.[5][6]
- Actor
- comedian
- producer
- screenwriter
- YouTuber
Cooper Tomlinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cooper Tomlinson |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2016–present |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Genres | |
| Subscribers | 1.52 million |
| Views | 732 million |
| Last updated: July 14, 2026 | |
Early life and career
Tomlinson studied at the New York Film Academy campus in Los Angeles, California. There, he met Curry Barker, a fellow student at the academy. He began making videos together with Barker on YouTube, which they described as "our film school outside of film school".[2] After they formed the sketch comedy channel "that's a bad idea",[7] Barker and Tomlinson dropped out of the academy and moved in together.[8]
They created and published numerous comedy sketches and short films on their YouTube channel and TikTok.[8][9] In 2024, he and Barker made their feature film debut with Milk & Serial starred in and co-produced the film with Barker, a slasher film with a budget of $800 that was released for free on YouTube.[2]
After the success of Milk & Serial, Tomlinson began co-writing and producing[10] Obsession with Barker. He starred as Ian in the film, starring along with Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter.[3][4] The film was a massive critical and commercial success. Largely by word-of-mouth, the film grossed $448 million on a budget of $750,000.
Tomlinson began co-writing and executive producing Barker's upcoming film Anything but Ghosts. He is set to star in the film.[11][12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Aberdeen | Connor | Also associate producer | |
| Real World | Brant Phillip | Short film | [7] | |
| 2020 | Meanwhile Outside the Bank | Scott | Short film | [7] |
| 2021 | Drywall | Jason | Short film | [7] |
| 2023 | Enigma | Adam | Short film; also co-producer and writer | [13] |
| Warnings | Kendal | Short film; also producer | [14] | |
| 2024 | That's a Bad Idea | Music video | [15] | |
| Milk & Serial | Steven / Seven | Also co-producer and cinematographer | [9][16] | |
| 2025 | Fly Me to the Earth | Angus | Short film; also co-writer and co-producer | [17] |
| My Dead Dad's Funeral | Jason | Short film | [18] | |
| Obsession | Ian | Also associate producer | [3] | |
| 2026 | The Incident Report | Brett | Short Film | |
| Anything but Ghosts | Eddy | Post-production; also co-writer and executive producer | [19] |
Web series
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Dutton Ranch | Deputy Cecil Post | 2 episodes | [22] |