Star of Netflix’s Adolescence next role revealed – and it includes A-list Hollywood stars

Owen Cooper has blown audiences away in the gripping Netflix drama (Picture: Courtesy of Netflix)

Netflix’s thrilling new drama Adolescence has received rave reviews for its ‘terrifying’ portrayal of social media and toxic masculinity.

Directed by Philip Barantini and starring the likes of Stephen Graham and Ashley Walters, the haunting one-shot drama is already being tipped for Bafta success.

But taking the nation by storm is the monumental performance of 15-year-old Owen Cooper, who was acting in his first-ever professional project.

Starring as schoolboy Jamie Miller, his character is arrested inside his home during a dawn raid after he is accused of murdering a young girl.

Now, after already being dubbed the ‘Lionel Messi of the acting game’ by his co-star Walters, the 15-year-old has secured his next acting project alongside Hollywood stars Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie.

Who is Adolescence star Owen Cooper?

Aged only 14 years old at the time of filming, Cooper was plucked from relative obscurity to overnight stardom after Graham saw something unique in the young actor, resulting in him landing his first-ever professional acting role.

Speaking in an interview on Heart radio, Graham, 51, explained how Cooper was up against 500 other boys to play the role of Jamie Miller.

He said: ‘Our philosophy and ethos that we go by personally is, in the respect of our production companies, we try and create opportunities in front and behind the camera for working-class kids or people who wouldn’t normally have those opportunities.

‘Our wonderful casting director, Shaheen Baig, she saw over 500 young lads for this, and no disrespect, we didn’t want anyone who had a lot of experience, we wanted someone who is fresh and not used to the whole way that we work.’

Graham explained how they narrowed the 500 contenders down to five… and Cooper was ‘one of those lads that was brilliant’.

‘Normally, you know, in our industry it’s “sorry you didn’t get the part well done see you later”, but these last five, we offered them all a role, because they all had such wonderful talent,’ he stated.

‘But going back to the one and only Owen, he just stood out, he had this unique ability just like what I saw in Jodie Comer.’

What is Owen Cooper’s next role after Adolescence?

Following his breakout performance in Adolescence, Cooper has joined the all-star cast of Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

Euphoria star Jacob Elordi is set to star in the upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation (Picture: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Cooper is believed to be playing the younger version of Jacob Elordi’s character, Heathcliff, in the classic gothic novel.

He will also be starring alongside Barbie and Wolf of Wall Street star Margot Robbie, who is playing Catherine Earnshaw.

Speaking to Variety close to the time that Adolescence was being released, Cooper said the Wuthering Heights shoot had been going ‘really well’ and described director Fennell as ‘lovely’.

He also said Elordi and Robbie would regularly talk to him while they were having their makeup done for the film.

The 15-year-old has his co-star Graham to thank for helping him land the role after the Liverpudlian personally recommended his own agent to work for him.

What have Adolescence fans said about Owen’s performance?

It’s hard to believe that Cooper’s captivating role in Adolescence was his first-ever on-screen performance.

Stephen Graham stars as Jamie’s father Eddie in Adolescence (Picture: Courtesy of Netflix)

Following the fictional story of a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murder, the four episodes in the series chart the impact the tragedy has on the boy’s family.

It also delves into the impact that harmful ideologies from influences like Andrew Tate can have on young men.

Filmed in a spellbinding one-take style, fans have raved over the series, calling it ‘one of the most heartbreaking series I have watched in decades’.

Central to all this praise is Cooper’s performance, which was hailed as ‘spectacular’ by his psychologist co-star Briony, played by Erin Doherty, in episode three.

Doherty, 32, told the Metro: ‘I keep talking about how incredible he is, but I just think it’s a real marker of his emotional intelligence and his ability to do this job. I just think he’s supposed to do this job, because he just was able to dive in and let this quite terrifying personality take over.’

Cooper’s fellow co-star Walters, 42, similarly praised the youngster, adding that Owen is a ‘generational talent’.

‘It’s like the Lionel Messi of the acting game. It’s true,’ the Top Boy star said.

‘You watch him and you’re like, I don’t get how you’re doing this without hardly any life experience. How are you finding these emotions and these pockets and these places? And he’s doing it all naturally.

‘We had to decompress coming off set, like you’re crying… This guy was going to play table tennis, paddle ball and stuff. It’s just so easy. It’s just a gift.

‘It felt like someone was talking through him, and he’s set for big things.’

Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix.

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