“I hope that Adolescence can spark a conversation among parents with them talking to their kids more, making sure they’re not alone.”

- Owen Cooper

Netflix’s hard-hitting drama, Adolescence, has become one of the most talked-about TV shows of all time—with wins at the Gotham and IndieWire awards, and Emmy nomination buzz growing—not least thanks to its 15-year-old star, Owen Cooper.  

Cooper plays Jamie in the show, a young boy accused of murdering a young teenage girl who goes to his school. The show has sparked an international conversation about incel culture and online misogyny, about the radicalization of young boys and the use of social media among young people. The series explores the fallout from Jamie’s subsequent arrest and incarceration, provoking conversations about how much parents really do know about the online habits of their children. In the UK, where the series is set, so significant was the impact of the drama that Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed for Netflix to stream the programme for free in schools across the UK.  

The show has made a star of teenager Cooper, whose career is now rapidly ascending. Dressed by Louis Vuitton on his recent red carpet appearances, he’s just finished playing a young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights alongside Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, and he’s worked alongside White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood on a new BBC comedy series, Film Club. 

We sat down with Owen and his fellow Adolescence star, Christine Tremarco (who played Jamie's mother, Manda, in the show) to discuss the impact of the show, his work on Wuthering Heights, and what’s next for the rising star. 

Christine Tremarco: Adolescence has become one of the most talked-about television shows of all time. How do you feel about the attention it has received?

Owen Cooper: It’s blown up in a way that we didn’t expect, which is good to hear, and I’m glad that people are connecting with it. I’m buzzing that it’s got so much attention and that it’s gone crazy worldwide too. I think my expectation was that it would of course start a conversation in Northern England where it was filmed, but it’s gone all over the world, which is even better. 

Congratulations on your award win at the Gotham and IndieWire awards too! How did that feel, and was it nice to be united with all the team again on the night? 

It was really nice! At the Gotham Awards, I got the first award [for Outstanding SupportingPerformance in a Limited Series] and then Adolescence won Best Breakthrough Limited Series. All of us got on stage for that. IndieWire was good too, where I also won [Breakthrough Award]. I met Ben Stiller, Colin Farrell, Kathy Bates: it was a good night!

Going back to the beginning, what do you remember about the first audition you had for Adolescence, and then your on-screen chemistry test with Stephen Graham? 

For the first self-tape I filmed, I had to do two scenes where [Jamie] went to the headmaster’s office. In the first video he was guilty and then the second video he was innocent. I can’t even remember how good it was. I just sent it off and waited for the first audition in Manchester with Phil [Barantini, director] and Robbie [O’Neill, who played Mr. Garfield]. It was the last screen test and audition before he gave me the part. With Stephen, we clicked straight away which was all I could ask for, really. 

This is your first professional acting job. What had you done before, acting wise? Was it something you’d done at school before getting involved with the Drama MOB [a drama group in Manchester, England] and how did your work with the Drama MOB prepare you for this?

 I didn’t want to do any drama in school. I don’t know why, I just didn’t want to do it. I started doing it outside of school instead—I was doing it for two years and drama just helped me get out of my comfort zone a little bit. I used to do these drama [still] frames where you’d be asked to do something stupid [and hold it], but it helped to get me out of my shell and comfort zone so much–and that helped me to perform. We used to do plays too, Christmas plays and stuff, just in front of our parents. I don’t really want to get into theatre, but those plays that we did just made me confident going into this. 

Did you always want to be an actor? When did you first think about becoming an actor?

Probably about four years ago. When I was a kid, I just wanted to be a footballer. I had two older brothers who loved football and when I was three years old, I was always kicking a football. I just always wanted to be a footballer and then, I don’t know, it just clicked for me when I started watching films. The first film I watched where I knew I wanted to become an actor was The Impossible with Tom Holland. I just looked at him and thought “Oh, I want to do what he was doing.” Four years ago, around the time of seeing it, I then asked my parents to start drama lessons.

Wow, only four years ago?! What advice did the likes of Jack [Thorne, writer] Stephen [Graham], Phil [Barantini, director] give you before you started filming on Adolescence to help you get inside the character of Jamie’s head? 

They weren’t giving me advice as such, but there were certain things they said that helped me. They told me where to go [on set] because I didn’t know what to expect when arriving on set myself. I just learned the script and then whatever I was told to do acting wise, I’d just do it. 

Was it just instinctive for you, getting inside Jamie’s head?

Yeah, definitely. 

Each episode of Adolescence was filmed in one continuous shot. How did you prepare for this?  
Well, I didn’t know any better. Coming from doing a one shot, it was weird going onto Wuthering Heights after that experience where we didn’t have 

anything like that. I think every actor fears the one shot but when you do it, it’s great. I’d love to do it again and I’m sure almost all of the cast would say that as well.  

They would, yeah.

It was a good thing and I can take [that experience] with me for the rest of my life.

How did you prepare for the role of Jamie? 

I didn’t really prepare for it before getting on set. I just learned the script as much as I possibly could. I didn’t want to be the person on set that would mess it up because of the one-shot. I just got on set and actually, I’m glad I filmed Episode Three first [with Erin Doherty] because I was able to work with Erin [alone] first. I reckon if I would have gone in and done episode one first, I would’ve struggled with it a lot more. I’m glad that I didn’t have that at the start. 

In rehearsals, I just did what I was told and what I needed to change, I’d change. A lot of it was [learning on set]. It was perfect working with Erin on that episode and then I did Episode One after Episode Three, that’s when I started working with Ashley [Walters], Stephen [Graham], you, Amelie [Pease]—everyone. It was a lovely experience.  

I think you learned most of your lines for the show in just two weeks, how did you manage that?  

Yeah, I had two weeks and I learned them all for about three or four hours a day. If anything, I think I did a bit too much of learning my lines because I was so scared of forgetting them. When I was on set, I had this acting coach and then we went through lines and then we went straight into freestyle really.  

One of the most talked about episodes in the show was episode three with Erin. Were there any improvisational moments in that? 

I think maybe one is the yawn, where Jamie yawns at her. There were a few more. At the start when we’re just laughing and joking—a lot of that is improvisation. Later on, we were told to stick to the script as much as possible because of how well it was written.

And did you become more comfortable and bolder with your choices during that scene with Erin as things progressed? 

I don’t know about bolder. We did two weeks of rehearsals and then my shoot, when things got underway, we didn’t even think about the lines. We were just in our heads. We were told by Phil to just change it all the time and make it different. When you were looking at the script, there were some moments where you were like, “I don’t really know about that line,” but once you get on set, Jack [Thorne, writer] was there too and it was just so useful to have him on set. Jack would actually direct me and Erin, well not Erin as much but me quite a lot. He was just telling me how to say the lines from the script. 

You’ve just finished filming Wuthering Heights alongside Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, what has this experience been like?  

It’s been just under two months since we finished filming. It was brilliant. It’s a different way of filming—the normal way of filming—which I wasn’t a fan of at first. It was the repeating of scenes over and over again that I struggled with, but I eventually got used to that. It was really good; I did a scene with Margot. I mean I didn’t think I’d see them much but I actually did, to be fair. They’d always stay for a chat; it was lovely to work with them. They were both very lovely. I still speak to Jacob quite a bit; I message him quite often. 

You’ve also filmed a new television comedy, Film Club, alongside Aimee Lou Wood. What was she like to work with? 

She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. I met her at a read through first and she was hilarious. The script’s very funny and it’s really good. I can’t wait for it to come out. 

Who are your acting heroes? 

I have people who I look up to: Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington. I could go on forever really but those are the main people I would say. Timothée Chalamet is another.  

What are your hopes for the future? Are there any genres you’d like to work in?

I don’t know! Action’s pretty cool. That’s probably what I’d like to do next. I’d like to do horror too. 

That would be brilliant. 

Horror, action: all of them really.

What do you hope will be the legacy of Adolescence? 

I think everyone will remember it because of how much it has impacted people. What I hope, it may not be the case, but what I hope, is that something will change from it. It’s going to be shown in schools, which is good to hear. I’m glad that there’s going to be a bit of change in society because of the show. I hope that Adolescence can spark a conversation among parents with them talking to their kids more, making sure they’re not alone like you see in Adolescence.

Adolescence is streaming now on Netflix.

Photographed by Martin Gatti

Styled by Marisa Ellison at Opus Beauty

Written by Elizabeth Aubrey

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Grooming: Carolina Ballesteros at Opus Beauty using Kenra and Danessa Myricks

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Photo Assistant: Justin Officer

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Production Assistants:  Ben Shmikler, McKenna Matus, Zoe Swintek

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