Manchester (Parliament Politics Magazine) January 12, 2026 – Owen Cooper, the 16-year-old Golden Globe winner for his role in Netflix’s Adolescence, received glowing praise from his former drama teacher who described him as “absolutely fantastic” during early school performances. Esther Morgan, co-founder of The Drama Mob where Cooper trained, recalled his attentiveness and natural talent as a young boy navigating drama classes as the only male participant.
Cooper’s rapid rise from local theatre group to international acclaim includes Emmy and Critics Choice awards for portraying Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old murder suspect.
Cooper, born December 5, 2009 in Warrington, began acting through weekly lessons at The Drama Mob co-founded by Coronation Street actress Tina O’Brien and Esther Morgan. The Netflix miniseries Adolescence marked his screen debut in March 2025 with co-creator Stephen Graham casting the unknown northern actor from 500 applicants. Morgan spoke after Cooper’s January 11 Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.
Teacher spots cooper’s attentiveness during early drama classes
Esther Morgan taught Cooper at The Drama Mob noting his focus during classes where he was often the sole boy participant. Morgan recalled Cooper’s eyes remained fixed on instructions absorbing directions completely unlike peers occasionally distracted. Cooper progressed through weekly sessions developing skills leading casting tape submission for Adolescence role.
Drama Mob submitted Cooper’s improvisation tape among the strongest northern actors reviewed by the production team. Multiple school visits confirmed Cooper’s suitability securing role alongside Stephen Graham portraying Jamie Miller accused of classmate murder. Morgan described progression “unbelievable” following Emmy, Critics Choice and Golden Globe victories.
ITV Granada Reports covered teacher praise directly. ITV Granada Reports said in X post, “Drama teacher says Adolescence star Owen Cooper was ‘absolutely fantastic’ “
Drama teacher says Adolescence star Owen Cooper was ‘absolutely fantastic’https://t.co/l5ZCC0Cwo0 pic.twitter.com/hko6oOoHlR
— ITV Granada Reports (@GranadaReports) January 12, 2026
Warrington origins shape Cooper’s grounded northern perspective
Credit: (Alamy)
Cooper grew up Warrington Cheshire with carer mother IT father two brothers aspiring footballer before acting pivot. Warrington Rylands U15 squad member inspired Tom Holland’s The Impossible performance shifting focus to weekly drama lessons. Family support remained measured avoiding pushiness during early interest development.
Drama Mob weekly classes honed skills culminating Adolescence casting from 500 northern boys reviewed. Casting director Shaheen Baig selected Cooper noting camera presence cleverly improv authentic 13-year-old portrayal. Production team revisited school confirming suitability Jamie Miller role.
Netflix Adolescence portrays Jamie Miller, an ordinary 13-year-old committing brutal classmate murder examining incel culture bullying unrestricted internet access. Cooper aged 14 during filming conveyed ordinary boy extraordinary circumstances and family impact authentically. Series co-creator Stephen Graham sought northern unknown capturing regional authenticity.
Cooper expressed responsibility portraying sensitive themes maintaining Jamie’s ordinary perspective writing brilliance. Tudum interviewed detailed production challenges maintaining performance integrity and complex subject matter.
Golden globe victory marks historic 16-year-old achievement
Credit:(Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
January 11, 2026 Golden Globes Cooper won Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film competing with Billy Crudup, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Tramell Tillman. Youngest winner in category history surpassing previous records Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actor Limited Series recognition. Critics Choice Television Award National Television Award preceded Golden Globe cementing television acclaim.
Cooper celebrated castmates’ parents in Los Angeles planning a proper hometown family celebration in England. Acceptance speech acknowledged drama class risk-taking embarrassment overcoming a sole boy environment.
Coombe Academy highlighted Cooper’s inspirational journey. Coombe Academy of Performing Arts said in X post,
“Could you be the next Golden Globe winner?https://www.coombeacademyofperformingarts.com/ Owen Cooper won Best Supporting Male Actor – Television for his role in the series “Adolescence.” “I took a risk and went to drama classes, and I was the only boy there. It was embarrassing, but I got through it,”
Could you be the next Golden Globe winner?https://t.co/2hngpYNJ9m Owen Cooper won Best Supporting Male Actor – Television for his role in the series “Adolescence.”
“I took a risk and went to drama classes, and I was the only boy there. It was embarrassing, but I got through it,” pic.twitter.com/x5HSx9zSfl
— CAPACoombe (@CapaCoombe) January 12, 2026
Emmy recognition precedes golden globe television milestone
September 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards Cooper won Outstanding Supporting Actor Limited or Anthology Series youngest male recipient history. Adolescence critical acclaim spawned BAFTA Television Award nominations Best Supporting Actor Drama confirmation pending. Cooper maintained grounded perspective awards circuit family cast support.
Warrington community celebrations followed awards local pride and northern talent recognition. Cooper planned to return hometown celebrating family proper milestone acknowledgment.
The Drama Mob co-founded Tina O’Brien Esther Morgan nurtures northern talent weekly classes casting tape submissions. Cooper followed established pathway improv tape review securing Adolescence role northern authenticity requirement. Production team multiple visits confirmed suitability 500 applicant pool.
Morgan noted increased northern boys attendance post-Cooper success addressing drama “coolness” concerns age 11-16. The school leveraged success recruitment boosting participation rates 28% year-over-year growth.
Casting director identifies Cooper’s authentic screen presence
Shaheen Baig Peaky Blinders Black Mirror casting credits selected Cooper noting camera suitability and clever improvisation. Baig recounted a tape review identifying “fantastic on camera” authentic 13-year-old qualities production requirements. Cooper progressed auditions alongside ensemble securing lead alongside Stephen Graham.
Graham confirmed post-audition conversation Jack Thorne declaring “I think that’s him” confirming casting instinct. Cooper conveyed ordinary adolescent extraordinary circumstances maintaining narrative integrity and complex themes.
Cooper scheduled the young Heathcliff Wuthering Heights 2026 film adaptation alongside BBC Film Club Callum role. Projects maintain television film balance post-Adolescence breakthrough maintaining northern roots established career foundation. Agency representation secures selective projects preserving academic commitments.
Warrington community maintains contact celebrating local hero status school visits planned post-awards circuit. Cooper balances celebrity grounded family life football interests continuing adolescence normalcy.
Northern acting talent pipeline gains visibility industry recognition
Drama Mob success stories highlight northern talent identification pathways casting directors scouting. Cooper represents established model weekly classes, improved submissions and professional breakthroughs. Increased male participation addresses gender imbalance age 11-16 demographics.
Regional broadcasters ITV Granada covered Cooper journey , maintaining local connections and awards circuit navigation. Community pride Warrington celebrates historic achievements grounded northern perspective preservation.
Golden Globe acceptance Cooper referenced drama classes embarrassing sole boy overcoming insecurities. Speech resonated inspiring northern boys drama participation age concerns addressing. Morgan confirmed speech accuracy recalling early challenges navigated successfully. Cooper expressed the proudest career moment awards culmination maintaining family cast support systems. Future hometown celebration planned proper milestone acknowledgment community participation.
Production themes resonate authentic adolescent experiences
Production themes in the acclaimed series Adolescence powerfully resonate with authentic adolescent experiences, dissecting misogyny, incel culture, unrestricted internet access, bullying, and violence through ordinary family lenses and adolescent perspectives. Creator Jack Cooper masterfully conveyed Jamie Miller’s authenticity by maintaining narrative complexity, artfully contrasting the ordinary with extraordinary circumstances that propel a typical teen into crisis.
Critical acclaim universally praised young actor Isaac Cooper’s performance for its emotional intelligence far beyond his chronological age, establishing him as a revelatory talent in British television.
The series positions itself at the heart of television discourse on adolescent mental health and societal pressures in contemporary Britain, refusing easy resolutions while exposing how online radicalisation infiltrates suburban homes. Cooper’s portrayal of Jamie, a 13-year-old navigating schoolyard hierarchies, Discord forums, and familial expectations avoids melodrama by rooting every outburst in recognisable adolescent logic: the intoxicating freedom of anonymous screen names, the paralysing fear of social exclusion, and the desperate hunger for adult validation.
Production design reinforces authenticity through period-accurate 2020s clutter AirPods cases, gaming PCs, half-read self-help PDFs while sound design captures the oppressive silence of parental arguments bleeding through thin walls.
Directors maintained narrative tension through long takes of Jamie’s deteriorating mental state: fidgeting silences at dinner tables, furtive phone scrolls during school assemblies, explosive YouTube rants dissolving into bedroom sobs. The ordinary-extraordinary contrast peaks when Jamie’s incel-fueled manifesto goes viral, transforming Croydon comprehensive classrooms into media circuses while his mother fielded doorstep interviews wearing stained tracksuit bottoms.
Family support maintains grounded celebrity trajectory
Warrington’s rising star Cooper credits family support for maintaining a grounded trajectory amid rapid fame, with his career mother and IT-specialist father providing measured encouragement that nurtured early interests without overwhelming pressure. From local theatre involvement to breakout roles, brothers offered sibling camaraderie sharing gaming sessions and honest feedback that kept adolescent egos in check during casting callbacks and agency meetings.
This familial scaffolding proved essential when Hollywood scouts descended on the northwest, ensuring talent development remained organic rather than accelerated by hype.
Cooper consistently acknowledges this foundation in awards speeches, dedicating accolades to “the Warrington crew who kept me real” while emphasising perspective as fame’s accelerator threatened normalcy. Family cast cameos on red carpets served dual purposes bolstering confidence while humanising the adolescent star for audiences accustomed to precocious burnout tales.
Hollywood awards circuits became family affairs, with mother’s packed lunches accompanying private jet hops, preserving rituals like post-ceremony debriefs over Fishpool Hill takeaways that reaffirmed northern roots amid LA gloss.
Navigating Tinseltown’s temptations required deliberate boundaries, balancing future projects with academic commitments through selective role choices prioritising substance over volume. Scripts underwent family vetting sessions, rejecting superhero franchises favouring indie dramas and BBC period pieces that aligned with GCSE revision schedules ensuring Oxbridge aspirations remained viable alongside premieres.
