Owen Patrick Cooper (born 5 December 2009) is an English actor. He is best known for his debut role as a teenage murder suspect in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence (2025). For his performance, he became the youngest male actor to win an Actor Award and Primetime Emmy Award, as well as the youngest male actor to win the supporting actor BAFTA TV Award and Golden Globe Award for a series, miniseries, or television film.
Early life Owen Patrick Cooper was born on 5 December 2009 in Warrington, Cheshire. His mother is a carer and his father works in IT. He has two brothers. 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. 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.
Career
In March 2025, Cooper made his screen debut as Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old accused of murder, in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence. Series co-creator Stephen Graham had sought to cast an unknown actor from northern England for the role. 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. He had been selected from a pool of over 500 auditions. He filmed the series from July to October 2024.
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". 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. 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, 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. 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.
In May 2025, he was featured in the music video for "Little Bit Closer" by English musician Sam Fender. Later that year, he played Callum in the BBC Three series Film Club. He played young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, which was released on 13 February 2026. In August 2026, Cooper provided the narration for the campaign film of Liverpool FC's 2026–27 third kit launch.
Personal life , Cooper resides in the Warrington suburb of Orford. He is a fan of the football club Liverpool, and delivered the match ball at a Super League rugby match between Warrington Wolves and Hull F.C. on 12 April 2025. On 31 May 2026, he played in Soccer Aid 2026.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2026 Wuthering Heights Young Heathcliff TBA Domenico Post-production TBA Filming
Television Year Title Role Notes 2025 Adolescence Jamie Miller Main role Film Club Callum Recurring role
Music videos Year Title Artist 2025 "Little Bit Closer" Sam Fender
Commercials Year Title Role 2026 "Feel the Anfield Effect" Himself (narration)
Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominated work Result AACTA Awards 2026 Best Actor in a Series Adolescence Actor Awards 2026 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Astra TV Awards 2025 Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie British Academy Television Awards 2026 Best Supporting Actor Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2026 Breakthrough Talent Award Critics' Choice Television Awards 2026 Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries Edinburgh International Television Festival 2025 Best TV Actor – Drama Breakthrough Performance Gold Derby TV Awards 2025 Breakthrough Performer of the Year Limited/Movie Supporting Actor Golden Globe Awards 2026 Best Supporting Actor on Television Gotham TV Awards 2025 Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Limited Series Independent Spirit Awards 2026 Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series IndieWire Honors 2025 Breakthrough Award National Television Awards 2025 Drama Performance Primetime Emmy Awards 2025 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2026 Supporting Actor - Male Breakthrough Award Satellite Awards2025Best Supporting Actor on Television Seoul International Drama Awards 2025 Best Actor Sky Arts Awards 2025 The Times Breakthrough Award TCA Awards 2025 Individual Achievement in Drama
References
External links