‘Adolescence’ star Owen Cooper makes history as youngest ever male Emmy winner
Cooper picked up the gong on an evening where Adolescence dominated most of the awards.
By Nick Reilly
Owen Cooper, the star of TV drama Adolescence, has made history by becoming the youngest male to win the outstanding supporting actor awards at the Emmys.
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15-year-old Cooper, who played Jamie Miller in the celebrated series, won the award on a night which also saw wins for his co-stars Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty and the show’s director Philip Barantini.
The show focuses on the story of a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of his classmate and became a topic of global discussion when it was released in March. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for it to be shown in schools, while it was also lauded for shooting each episode in one continuous take.
Cooper saw off competition from the likes of Javier Bardem to win the award and said that he was “nothing three years ago”.
“It’s just so surreal. Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple of years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind here,” he said.
“So I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out of your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.”
The show was also named best overall anthology or limited series and took home a total of six awards, with Thorne and Graham also picking up the gong for outstanding writing.
Cooper also met his acting hero Jake Gyllenhaal before the awards. He will next be seen in Emerald Fennell’s anticipated adaptation of Wuthering Heights as a young Heathcliffe.