# Owen Cooper
**Owen Cooper** (born 2009) is an English actor from [Warrington](https://www.edgepedia.org/warrington), Cheshire, who became the youngest male winner of a Primetime Emmy Award for acting at age 15, for his debut role as Jamie Miller in the Netflix crime drama *Adolescence* (2025)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/bio/) • [2](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/9/adolescence-star-owen-cooper-makes-history-at-primetime-emmys-as-netflix-show-cleans-up).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2009, Warrington, Cheshire, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/bio/) |
| Breakthrough role | Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old accused of murdering a classmate, in Netflix's *Adolescence* (2025), his first professional acting job[2](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/9/adolescence-star-owen-cooper-makes-history-at-primetime-emmys-as-netflix-show-cleans-up) • [3](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/owen-cooper-shaheen-baig-adolescence) |
| Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the 77th Emmy Awards, won at 15 years 283 days old[2](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/9/adolescence-star-owen-cooper-makes-history-at-primetime-emmys-as-netflix-show-cleans-up) • [4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/owen-cooper) |
| Golden Globe | Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television, January 2026, at 16 the youngest ever winner of the award[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/owen-cooper-drama-school-adolescence-bafta-win-b2974091.html) |
| BAFTA | Best Supporting Actor at the 2026 BAFTA TV Awards, at 16 the youngest ever winner of that award[6](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/adolescence-bafta-history/) |
| Training | The Drama Mob theater group in Manchester, joined 2021, one weekly class[7](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2025-owen-cooper-actor/5209248.article) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/bio/) |
| Upcoming films | Young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's *Wuthering Heights* (2026); Tom Ford's *Cry to Heaven*[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/owen-cooper/) • [9](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/where-does-owen-cooper-go-next) |
## Adolescence and the role of Jamie Miller
*Adolescence* is a Netflix limited series created by [Jack Thorne](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-thorne) and [Stephen Graham](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-graham) and directed by Philip Barantini, in which Cooper plays Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy arrested as the suspect in the killing of his classmate Katie; the show follows the police investigation, Jamie's experience in custody, and how his family copes[3](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/owen-cooper-shaheen-baig-adolescence) • [2](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/9/adolescence-star-owen-cooper-makes-history-at-primetime-emmys-as-netflix-show-cleans-up). The series was shot so that entire episodes play in a single take, an unusual demand on a first-time performer[7](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2025-owen-cooper-actor/5209248.article). Graham, who plays Jamie's father Eddie, was reportedly convinced at Cooper's first audition, telling co-writer Jack Thorne "I think that's him" when Cooper left the room[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/bio/).
The show became 2025's most talked-about television series in Britain and dominated the cultural conversation around male online radicalization[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/owen-cooper-drama-school-adolescence-bafta-win-b2974091.html). At the 77th [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards) it won eight prizes, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, with Cooper taking Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie[10](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/adolescence-cast-release-date-photos-news).
## Awards history
**Emmy.** At the ceremony in Los Angeles on September 14, 2025, Cooper won at 15 years 283 days old, making him the youngest male actor to win a Primetime Emmy in any acting category, a mark recorded by [Guinness World Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinness-world-records)[2](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/9/adolescence-star-owen-cooper-makes-history-at-primetime-emmys-as-netflix-show-cleans-up) • [11](https://time.com/7316901/owen-cooper-wins-emmy-adolescence/). In his acceptance speech he said, "I think tonight proves if you listen, and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life"[2](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/9/adolescence-star-owen-cooper-makes-history-at-primetime-emmys-as-netflix-show-cleans-up).
**Golden Globe.** On January 11, 2026, at the 83rd [Golden Globe Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-globe-awards), he won Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries, or Television Film, becoming at 16 the youngest ever winner of that award[12](https://goldenglobes.com/articles/owen-cooper-at-the-83rd-annual-golden-globes-winners-portrait-studio-by-abdm-studio/) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/owen-cooper-drama-school-adolescence-bafta-win-b2974091.html).
**Critics Choice and BAFTA.** He won Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards[13](https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/celebrity-news/critics-choice-awards-2026-full-list-winners). At the 2026 BAFTA TV Awards, where *Adolescence* took four awards, the most won by a single series in the ceremony's history, Cooper became the youngest ever winner of the best supporting actor award at 16[6](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/adolescence-bafta-history/). The Associated Press named him one of its Breakthrough Entertainers of 2025[14](https://apnews.com/article/37163c953490316e6555ada01115c527).
## Training and background
Cooper came to acting through The Drama Mob, a Manchester theater group co-founded by [Coronation Street](https://www.edgepedia.org/coronation-street) actor [Tina O'Brien](https://www.edgepedia.org/tina-obrien) and Esther Morgan; he joined in 2021, attending one weekly class, and was the only boy in his class[7](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2025-owen-cooper-actor/5209248.article) • [15](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jan/12/owen-cooper-warrington-schoolboy-golden-globes-acting). He has said he took up the classes as a hobby, inspired after watching [Tom Holland](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-holland) in *The Impossible* (2012), and did not expect acting to amount to anything[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/bio/).
He is the youngest of three brothers from a non-industry family; his mother is a carer and his father works in IT[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/bio/) • [16](https://apnews.com/article/f747fc109255f0491c7ea84edc40bcec). Before *Adolescence* he was rejected for many roles, which his teacher Esther Morgan attributed to fit rather than talent[17](https://www.the-independent.com/bulletin/culture/adolescence-owen-cooper-netflix-stardom-b2899537.html). A football-mad child, he is a devoted Liverpool supporter[16](https://apnews.com/article/f747fc109255f0491c7ea84edc40bcec).
## Later work
Cooper's follow-up credits came quickly. He played Callum, an annoying neighbor to [Aimee Lou Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/aimee-lou-wood)'s character, in the [BBC Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-three) comedy series *Film Club*, which premiered in October 2025[7](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2025-owen-cooper-actor/5209248.article) • [16](https://apnews.com/article/f747fc109255f0491c7ea84edc40bcec). In May 2025 he appeared in [Sam Fender](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-fender)'s music video for "Little Bit Closer"[18](https://app.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/owen-cooper-who-is-he-golden-globes-adolescence-b1238479.html).
On film, he plays the young Heathcliff opposite [Jacob Elordi](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacob-elordi) in [Emerald Fennell](https://www.edgepedia.org/emerald-fennell)'s adaptation of *Wuthering Heights*, released in 2026, which makes him Oscar-eligible that year[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/owen-cooper/) • [16](https://apnews.com/article/f747fc109255f0491c7ea84edc40bcec). He described watching Elordi's mannerisms on set and noted that parts of the script were withheld from him because he was underage[7](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2025-owen-cooper-actor/5209248.article). He is also cast in [Tom Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-ford)'s *Cry to Heaven*, a historical drama adapted from the Anne Rice novel, set in 18th-century Italy and co-starring Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Adele in her acting debut[9](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/where-does-owen-cooper-go-next). He is reported in talks to play Jim Hawkins in Ridley Scott's *Treasure Island* (2027)[19](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/news/).
## References
1. [Owen Cooper – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/bio/)
2. [Adolescence star Owen Cooper makes history at Primetime Emmys, Guinness World Records](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/9/adolescence-star-owen-cooper-makes-history-at-primetime-emmys-as-netflix-show-cleans-up)
3. [Adolescence Interview: Owen Cooper & Shaheen Baig, Netflix Tudum](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/owen-cooper-shaheen-baig-adolescence)
4. [Owen Cooper, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/owen-cooper)
5. [The Owen Cooper effect: How the BAFTA star's drama school has turned into the Rada of the North, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/owen-cooper-drama-school-adolescence-bafta-win-b2974091.html)
6. [Adolescence makes BAFTA history, Woman & Home](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/adolescence-bafta-history/)
7. [Stars of Tomorrow 2025: Owen Cooper, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2025-owen-cooper-actor/5209248.article)
8. [Owen Cooper, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/owen-cooper/)
9. [Where does Owen Cooper go next?, British GQ](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/where-does-owen-cooper-go-next)
10. [Is 'Adolescence' a True Story? Emmy Wins, Plot, Cast, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/adolescence-cast-release-date-photos-news)
11. [Owen Cooper Wins Emmy for Adolescence, Time](https://time.com/7316901/owen-cooper-wins-emmy-adolescence/)
12. [Owen Cooper at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes, Golden Globes](https://goldenglobes.com/articles/owen-cooper-at-the-83rd-annual-golden-globes-winners-portrait-studio-by-abdm-studio/)
13. [Critics Choice Awards 2026 full list of winners, Marie Claire UK](https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/celebrity-news/critics-choice-awards-2026-full-list-winners)
14. [The Associated Press names its Breakthrough Entertainers of 2025](https://apnews.com/article/37163c953490316e6555ada01115c527)
15. [Owen Cooper: how schoolboy conquered Golden Globes, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jan/12/owen-cooper-warrington-schoolboy-golden-globes-acting)
16. [AP Breakthrough Entertainer: Owen Cooper goes from 'Adolescence' to new 'Heights', Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/f747fc109255f0491c7ea84edc40bcec)
17. [Adolescence's Owen Cooper regularly missed out on roles before Netflix stardom, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/bulletin/culture/adolescence-owen-cooper-netflix-stardom-b2899537.html)
18. [Who is Owen Cooper? Meet the serial award winner, The Standard](https://app.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/owen-cooper-who-is-he-golden-globes-adolescence-b1238479.html)
19. [Owen Cooper – News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16369583/news/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born 2001 to 2010 › Performers born 2006 to 2010*
*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