Fifteen-year-old Owen Cooper stunned Hollywood on Sunday night, becoming the youngest male actor ever to win a Primetime Emmy. The Warrington-born teenager took home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series for his performance in Netflix’s acclaimed drama Adolescence at the 77th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.
Cooper’s win marked a milestone, breaking the record previously held by Scott Jacoby, who was 16 when he won in 1973. The only younger acting Emmy winner remains Roxana Zal, who was 14 when she triumphed in 1984.
The four-part Adolescence was the night’s biggest winner, sweeping six prizes including Best Limited Series, and acting trophies for Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty. Shot entirely in continuous takes, the drama was praised for its gripping depiction of the social pressures facing teenagers in the smartphone age.
Cooper, who portrayed Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old accused of murdering a classmate, was visibly moved during his speech. “Standing up here is just, wow, it’s just so surreal,” he said. “When I started these drama classes a couple of years back, I didn’t expect to even be in the United States, never mind here. Step out of your comfort zone a little bit—who cares if you get embarrassed? Anything can be possible. I was nothing about three years ago, I’m here now.”
The actor thanked his family, co-stars, and the show’s crew. “It may have my name on this award, but it really belongs to the people behind the camera,” he said.
Casting directors selected Cooper from more than 500 auditions, after spotting an improv tape he recorded through his Manchester drama school. “He just had something,” one teacher recalled. Despite headlines suggesting he had never acted before, his school credits and improvisation work prepared him for the series’ ambitious one-take style.
In Adolescence, Cooper’s performance reached its peak in the third episode, a tense one-hour therapy session with Doherty’s character, child psychologist Briony. Critics praised his ability to swing from defiance to vulnerability, cementing his place as the show’s breakout star.
Inspired by real-life tragedies, Adolescence explored the troubling rise of teen violence. Graham, who co-created the series with writer Jack Thorne, said: “Any human being with a moral compass can look at that situation and think, what’s going on with society today?”
The drama struck a cultural chord, becoming Netflix’s second most-watched English-language series ever, after Wednesday. It even prompted debate in Parliament, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer backing its release to schools to address the “emerging and growing problem” it depicted.
Jack Thorne credited the young cast, telling them: “You are the flame that proved young people are going to be OK.”
The Emmy ceremony itself unfolded briskly under host Nate Bargatze’s unusual gimmick: a $100,000 charity donation was reduced whenever winners ran over their 45-second limit. By the end of the night, CBS and Bargatze announced a total $250,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Alongside Adolescence’s sweep, medical drama The Pitt claimed Best Drama Series, with Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa winning acting awards. Sci-fi thriller Severance also scored big, with Tramell Tillman making history as the first Black winner of Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. Seth Rogen’s satire The Studio shattered comedy records with 13 wins, while Jean Smart repeated her triumph in Hacks.
Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert, whose Late Show was recently cancelled, earned Outstanding Talk Series. Holding up his old headshot, he quipped: “While I have your attention, is anyone hiring?”
Cooper’s victory cements him as one of Hollywood’s brightest new talents. Reflecting on his breakthrough, he said: “I think Adolescence was the perfect start for me. I went in there just wanting to learn, wanting to do the job, really. And I’ll take that into every other job that I’ll ever, ever do.”
With Netflix’s awards juggernaut set to continue into the Golden Globes, SAGs, and Baftas, it’s likely that Emmy night was only the beginning for Owen Cooper. As Doherty put it on stage: “I’ll be banging on about Owen Cooper and Adolescence for the rest of my life.”
