# Charlie Cooper (actor)
**Charlie Cooper** (born 1989) is an English actor, writer, and presenter best known for co-writing and starring in the [BBC Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-three) mockumentary *This Country*, in which he played Kurtan Mucklowe alongside his sister [Daisy May Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/daisy-may-cooper) as Kerry Mucklowe[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper). He later moved into film with a supporting role in the 2022 murder-mystery comedy *See How They Run* and became the presenter of the BBC documentary series *Charlie Cooper's Myth Country*, which investigates British folk tales[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518) • [1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper) |
| Signature work | *This Country* (BBC Three, 2017–2020), co-written with sister Daisy May Cooper; played Lee "Kurtan" Mucklowe in all three series[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518) • [3](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-801425/filmographie/) |
| Recognition | The show won three Baftas and three Royal Television Society awards; series two drew more than 12 million iPlayer requests[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) |
| Film debut | Dennis Corrigan in *See How They Run* (2022), directed by Tom George[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/charlie_cooper) |
| Presenting | *Charlie Cooper's Myth Country* (2024), a documentary series on Britain's folk tales[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper) |
| Other writing | Co-wrote an episode of *Avenue 5*; credited as executive producer on the American remake *Welcome to Flatch*[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518) |
| Family cast | Father Paul Cooper plays Martin Mucklowe and uncle Trevor Cooper plays Len in *This Country*[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper) |
## Early life
Cooper was born in [Cirencester](https://www.edgepedia.org/cirencester), Gloucestershire, and lived there until he was 18, when he began a degree in sports science at Exeter University[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper). He left after two years of study and joined his sister Daisy in London, sleeping on her floor for a period[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper). In his early twenties he moved from retail work into modeling before turning to writing and acting[6](https://1883magazine.com/charlie-cooper/).
He describes his career as "a pure accident" and credits his sister with starting it: growing up, she staged plays for their parents and always roped him in, and later, in his words, "she saw something in me that no one else would have"[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518). Unlike his sister, who trained at RADA, he has no formal acting education and has said he still works through "a little bit of imposter syndrome" as a result[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) • [2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518).
## This Country
In 2010, Daisy May Cooper, failing to find acting work, began writing a comedy based on life around Cirencester and brought Charlie in, initially, he claimed, to help with the typing[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials). The siblings worked on the material for around half a decade, "writing and rewriting", before it was commissioned[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518). A pilot made for ITV in 2014 nearly ended the project: they lost control of the creation, the result was disliked, and the pair were dropped by the broadcaster, their agents, and the production company[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) • [2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518).
Daisy then approached Shane Allen, the BBC's head of comedy, who commissioned four episodes for BBC Three and introduced them to producer Simon Mayhew-Archer and director Tom George[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials). The team stripped the concept back to two cousins, Kerry and Kurtan Mucklowe, living in a [Cotswolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/cotswolds) village, and aimed for "the appearance of reality"[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials). After the failed pilot, which had used familiar television faces, Daisy wanted to avoid professional actors; three of the main characters, including Charlie's Kurtan, were played by untrained performers[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials).
The show ran for three series from 2017 to 2020, plus a special, and won three Baftas, including best scripted comedy, and three RTS awards[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/12/charlie-cooper-football-this-country-fulham). Its depiction of working-class rural life, with characters isolated and short of job prospects, was praised for being warm but rooted in real conditions[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518). Cooper has said the characters were based on people the Coopers knew as a starting point, and the show was filmed in Northleach, about 18 km from Cirencester[4](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials).
Acting ran in the family production: the siblings' father Paul played Martin Mucklowe, their uncle [Trevor Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/trevor-cooper) played the village grump Len, and their second cousin is the actor [Mathew Baynton](https://www.edgepedia.org/mathew-baynton)[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper).
## Later work
After *This Country* ended in 2020, Cooper was selective about roles. He co-wrote an episode of [Armando Iannucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/armando-iannucci)'s science-fiction sitcom *Avenue 5*, guest-starred in [Jamie Demetriou](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-demetriou)'s comedy *Stath Lets Flats*, and appeared in the film *[Greed](https://www.edgepedia.org/greed-2019-film)* and an episode of *Inside No. 9*[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518) • [1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper).
His first substantial film role came in *See How They Run* (2022), a tongue-in-cheek murder mystery directed by Tom George, in which he played Dennis Corrigan alongside [Sam Rockwell](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-rockwell), Saoirse Ronan, and [Adrien Brody](https://www.edgepedia.org/adrien-brody)[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/charlie_cooper). Cooper said the part felt manageable for a first big film and that sharing scenes with Brody was "a real lesson"[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518).
In 2024 he became the presenter of *Charlie Cooper's Myth Country*, a BBC series in which he explores Britain's folk tales and mysterious legends[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper). He has continued to appear on screen in productions including the 2024 series *[Stags](https://www.edgepedia.org/stags-tv-series)*, in which he played Ant[3](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-801425/filmographie/).
*This Country* was adapted for American television as *Welcome to Flatch*, on which the siblings are credited as executive producers, though Cooper has described their practical involvement as limited[2](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518).
## Personal life
Cooper still lives in [Gloucestershire](https://www.edgepedia.org/gloucestershire), in a small village near Stroud, with his partner and their two young sons[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper). He is a keen fisherman who has appeared in *Angling Times*, which he called his "best interview ever"[8](https://www.nme.com/features/tv-interviews/this-country-season-3-daisy-may-charlie-cooper-2620884). He is a devoted Fulham supporter and, with his father, a season-ticket holder at [Craven Cottage](https://www.edgepedia.org/craven-cottage); his most prized souvenir is a match-worn [Brian McBride](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-mcbride) shirt caught in the crowd at Goodison Park in 2007, and McBride's surname remains part of his work email address[7](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/12/charlie-cooper-football-this-country-fulham). He has also become an enthusiastic metal detectorist after admiring Mackenzie Crook's sitcom *Detectorists*[1](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper).
## References
1. [Who is Charlie Cooper? Everything you need to know about the writer, actor and presenter, BBC Countryfile Magazine](https://www.countryfile.com/tv/who-is-charlie-cooper)
2. [Charlie Cooper: "Daisy saw something in me that no one else would have", NME](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/charlie-cooper-interview-see-how-they-run-3304518)
3. [Charlie Cooper : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-801425/filmographie/)
4. [How This Country became a hit with millennials, Royal Television Society](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials)
5. [Charlie Cooper Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/charlie_cooper)
6. [Charlie Cooper, 1883 Magazine](https://1883magazine.com/charlie-cooper/)
7. [Cirencester Juniors to 1860 Munich: Charlie Cooper's football odyssey, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/12/charlie-cooper-football-this-country-fulham)
8. ['This Country' stars: "Kerry and Kurtan would vote for Brexit", NME](https://www.nme.com/features/tv-interviews/this-country-season-3-daisy-may-charlie-cooper-2620884)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license