Netflix's harrowing miniseries Adolescence premiered in March 2025 and quickly became this year's Baby Reindeer-esque word-of-mouth hit, thanks in large part to its breakout star, Owen Cooper. In the U.K.-set series, rising star Cooper plays Jamie, a 13-year-old boy accused of stabbing a female classmate to death, across four single-take episodes. Inspired by the recent rise of knife crime in the U.K., the drama is an examination of toxic masculinity and how social media can radicalize young men, with Cooper delivering a layered, terrified performance.
As nearly all of Adolescence's viewers have noted, it's amazing to consider that the Netflix series is the 15-year-old's first-ever professional role. With the 2025 Emmys, where Adolescence won several awards, including Best Limited or Anthology Series, Cooper even made Emmys history. Read on to learn more about Owen Cooper, including which highly anticipated 2026 movie you can see him in next.
