Owen Cooper
English actor (born 2009)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Owen Patrick Cooper (born 5 December 2009)[1] is an English actor. He gained international recognition and acclaim for his debut role portraying teenage murder suspect Jamie Miller in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence (2025). For the role, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, making him the youngest male actor to win a Primetime Emmy Award. Cooper also won the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film, becoming the youngest winner in both categories, as well as the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for the same role, which made him the youngest recipient of the award in any category.
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5 December 2009
Owen Cooper | |
|---|---|
Cooper at the 2026 British Academy Television Awards | |
| Born | Owen Patrick Cooper 5 December 2009 Warrington, Cheshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2025–present |
Early life
Owen Patrick Cooper was born on 5 December 2009 in Warrington, Cheshire.[2][3][4] His mother is a carer and his father works in IT.[5] He has two brothers.[6] A former member of the Warrington Rylands U15 squad, he originally wanted to be a footballer before taking weekly acting lessons with The Drama Mob, a drama school co-created by Coronation Street actress Tina O'Brien and Esther Morgan, in Manchester.[7][8] He was inspired to pursue acting after watching Tom Holland's performance in The Impossible (2012), and stated that his family was supportive yet "not pushy" during his early interest in drama and acting.[3][9]
Career
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In March 2025, Cooper made his screen debut as Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old accused of murder, in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence.[10][11] Series co-creator Stephen Graham had sought to cast an unknown actor from northern England for the role.[7][12] The production team for Adolescence approached Cooper's drama school and asked to view tapes of their strongest northern actors; teachers at the school later stated that they believed that Cooper "just had something" and that the series' production team revisited the school on numerous occasions until he was eventually offered the role.[9] He had been selected from a pool of over 500 auditions.[13][14] He filmed the series from July to October 2024.[15][16]
The role earned him widespread critical acclaim, with the Evening Standard writing that "his is a performance that may be the best debut ever seen by a child actor".[17][18][19] He subsequently won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, making him the youngest male actor to win an Emmy and the youngest actor to ever be nominated in the category.[20][21][22] He also became the youngest actor to win the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television,[23][24] while his win for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie at the 32nd Actor Awards made him the youngest recipient of the award in any category.[25] Cooper also won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries, the Gotham TV Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Limited Series, and was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow.[26][27][28]
In May 2025, he was featured in the music video for "Little Bit Closer" by English musician Sam Fender.[29] Later that year, he played Callum in the BBC Three series Film Club.[13] He played young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, which was released on 13 February 2026.[30]
Personal life
As of April 2025, Cooper resides in Orford, Cheshire, a suburb of Warrington.[31] He is a fan of Liverpool F.C., and delivered the match ball at a Super League rugby match between Warrington Wolves and Hull F.C. on 12 April 2025.[32][33] On 31 May 2026, he played in Soccer Aid 2026.[34][35]
Filmography
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wuthering Heights | Young Heathcliff | Debut film role | [36] |
| 2027 | Cry to Heaven † | Post-production | [37] | |
| TBA | Foxfinder † | Pre-production | [38] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Adolescence | Jamie Miller | Main role | [39] |
| Film Club | Callum | Recurring role | [40] |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | "Little Bit Closer" | Sam Fender | [41] |
