In a milestone that rewrote television history, 15-year-old British actor Owen Cooper claimed the Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie award at the 2025 Emmy Awards, eclipsing a half-century-old benchmark during the ceremony in Los Angeles.
The achievement unfolded on Sunday evening at the Peacock Theater, where Cooper’s standout portrayal in Netflix’s gripping drama Adolescence propelled him past all rivals. His win dethroned the prior record holder, Scott Jacoby, who at 16 earned the same honor in 1973 for his work in That Certain Summer. As Cooper stepped onstage to accept the trophy, he conveyed a mix of awe and gratitude.
“Standing up here… wow this is so surreal,” he remarked. “Tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out of your comfort you can achieve anything in life.”
Delving deeper into his journey, the young performer added, “I was nothing about three years ago, I’m here now. It may have my name on this award but it really belongs to the people behind the camera and all the cast.”
Cooper navigated a formidable field of contenders, including Javier Bardem for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and Peter Sarsgaard for Presumed Innocent. Also nominated were Rob Delaney for Dying for Sex and his Adolescence co-star Ashley Walters. Yet the teenager’s raw intensity secured the upset victory.
His breakout came as Jamie Miller, a troubled youth drawn into radicalization who carries out the killing of a female schoolmate. The Netflix production, notable for its innovative single-take episodes under the direction of its creators, also stars Stephen Graham, Christine Tremarco, Erin Doherty, and Ashley Walters.
Adolescence exploded onto screens, amassing over 540 million viewing hours to rank as Netflix’s second-most-watched title globally trailing only Wednesday. It holds the distinction as the platform’s top U.K.-originated series. The narrative ignited global conversations about toxic online communities targeting young males, commonly termed the “manosphere.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper pondered his character’s plight: “He could have been more protected,” he observed. “He’s speaking to the wrong people online, which his family obviously has no idea about. Eddie and his mum could have just told him to come off [his phone]. Simple things like that could stop someone changing their life.”
Reflecting on on-set dynamics with Doherty, who embodies a psychologist, Cooper highlighted the unscripted sparks that fueled their chemistry. Doherty recalled a charged moment from the third episode: “We were then throwing even more things at each other. You were yawning in my face! You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t [feel free]. I just feel like there was an element of great realism: ‘Let’s see how well we know this script, how well we can push each other.’”
For his part, Cooper revealed that some of his most memorable lines emerged spontaneously. “I wasn’t even aware in the moment. It wasn’t till after that I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I did that. I had no awareness of it. I think when I said, ‘Look at me now!’ That’s not in the script. I remember thinking, ‘Have I actually just said that?’ Because I had no plan. It just popped in my head and I thought it was a powerful thing to do. Then it came out and I’d use it in every other take.”
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