Owen Cooper may not have been the first name on the call sheet when he was filming Emerald Fennell‘s Wuthering Heights earlier this year, but his co-stars, including Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, could not help but notice the young actor’s newfound Adolescence fame.
The limited series was popping on Netflix during the Wuthering Heights shoot, with Cooper’s performance as Jamie Miller — a 13-year-old accused of murdering a female classmate — making him a fixture on TV screens as people scrambled to secure an interview with the actor.
Elordi did not let it slide, taking the opportunity to roast Cooper, who plays the younger version of his character, Heathcliff. “They were all saying how big the show’s gone, and they were sick of seeing me on TV and stuff. That’s what Jacob said,” Cooper smiles. “Margot said that she was dying to watch it.”
Fast forward a few months, and Cooper is now the youngest ever nominee in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Anthology Series or Movie category at the Primetime Emmy Awards. In an interview with Deadline, the 15-year-old says the success of Adolescence is yet to fully sink in, but he is excited about the prospect of embarking on what will likely be a months-long awards campaign.
Cooper has never even watched the Emmy Awards, let alone attended the event. The British actor attempted to watch a recent Oscars ceremony, but ultimately succumbed to sleep. “It’s crazy,” he says of the Emmy recognition for his first screen acting role.
“It’s been the best year of my life,” Cooper continues. “Now it’s over a little bit, I’m going back to a bit of normality. School has been perfectly fine.” If Elordi gave him a tough time, what have friends said about his stardom? “They just know me for me, which I’m glad [about]. They haven’t changed in any way.”
Cooper says he has been able to leave Jamie Miller behind, which he acknowledges is probably for the best, given the character is a troubled murder suspect. The Adolescence shoot, which took place last year, has given him the taste for a career on screen.
“I’d hope and wish that I’d be doing this for the rest of my life,” he says, although he admits he could forever be chasing the high of Adolescence, which he suspects could prove to be the best on-set experience he will ever have.
His co-star Stephen Graham compared his performance to Robert De Niro. Does that weigh heavily? “I’m glad that he said that, but you can’t compare me to someone like that after one gig.” Cooper takes the compliment, but you sense he’s a little more comfortable taking the dunk from Elordi.