Adolescence star Owen Cooper makes history at Emmys | Ents & Arts News

Owen Cooper, the star of British TV drama Adolescence, has made history becoming the youngest to win an outstanding supporting actor Emmy.

Cooper, 15, played Jamie Miller in the highly-acclaimed series – which cleaned up in its categories, including gongs for his co-stars Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, and director Philip Barantini.

Adolescence, which dominated Netflix‘s most-watched list earlier this year, centres on the story of a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a classmate. It was widely praised not just for its subject matter but also its technical brilliance, with each episode shot in one continuous take.

Cooper, who was just 14 at the time of filming and had never acted before, saw off competition from the likes of Javier Bardem (Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story), Peter Sarsgaard (Presumed Innocent) and his own Adolescence co-star Ashley Walters to win his Emmy.

He said in his acceptance speech that he was “nothing three years ago”.

“It’s just so surreal. Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind here,” he told the audience in LA.

“So I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.”

The four-part mini-series provoked a strong response from viewers and prompted a conversation in the UK – and worldwide – around misogyny and online safety, with co-creator Jack Thorne joining Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a discussion on the matter at the end of March.

“It shows you that any dream is possible,” said Graham, who was also co-creator of the show, as he accepted his own acting prize.

The show was named best overall anthology or limited series and took home six awards in total, with Thorne and Graham also honoured for outstanding writing.

From police to the prime minister, Adolescence’s impact spread way beyond the small screen

Gemma Peplow

Culture and entertainment reporter

@gemmapeplow

It was a show that broke viewing records and fuelled countless conversations when it launched – a gut-punch for parents that shocked and captivated audiences around the world.

Adolescence tells the story of a teenage boy arrested for the murder of a female classmate, but is far removed from a typical whodunnit or crime drama. Harrowing and unflinching, this is a show about the impact of a horrendous violent crime on a broken family, highlighting the corrosive rise of online misogyny and the potentially damaging and devastating effects of social media on children growing up with smartphones.

The inital idea came to co-creator Stephen Graham following several real-life crimes. It tapped into parents’ fears because it felt real.

This was down to the script, the masterclass performances, and the one-take shooting – which meant viewers never left the action, had no time to catch a breath, not even for a second.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed he had watched the series with his family, prompting him to publicly support a campaign for it to be shown in parliament and schools. The Met Police also issued advice to parents on the signs to look out for when it comes to online radicalisation and extremism.

It happens every now and then, one of those TV moments – such as with Mr Bates Vs The Post Office – when a show’s impact extends way beyond the small screen.

Gyllenhaal’s gift

Before the ceremony, Cooper, from Warrington, had been surprised by his acting hero Jake Gyllenhaal, who walked in unannounced during an interview he was giving to press.

Gyllenhaal had been up against Graham in their best actor category for his performance in the Apple TV+ remake of Presumed Innocent.

The pair hugged, and Gyllenhaal gave Cooper a small gift – a “lucky duck”.

“I made this movie [Brokeback Mountain], and I got nominated for an Academy Award, and a friend of mine sent me this before. Something just like this,” he said.

“It’s just a ‘Lucky Duck’ to keep in your pocket. To give you a little bit of luck.”

The night’s other big winners

Other major winners included Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire The Studio, which dominated the comedy categories with prizes for directing, writing and outstanding actor, as well as best overall comedy series, and medical procedural drama The Pitt, which was named best drama series and earned awards in that category for its stars Noah Wyle (best actor) and Katherine LaNasa (supporting actress).

Severance star Tramell Tillman made history as the first black man to win the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series, while co-star Britt Lower was named outstanding lead actress in the same category.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver also picked up two prizes for variety series and outstanding scripted variety series.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was controversially cancelled earlier this year, picked up the prize for outstanding talk series.

“And that’s related to love, because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it,” Colbert told the crowd as his team cheered his name.

As well as the night’s winners, the ceremony also honoured stars we have lost in the last year in its In Memoriam section, including Dame Maggie Smith, musicians Ozzy Osbourne and Quincy Jones, Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg and director David Lynch.

A short speech incentive – but did it work?

This year’s host, Nate Bargatze, had an interesting way to keep speeches from getting too lengthy, as they often tend to do at awards ceremonies.

In his opening address, the comedian announced he would donate $100,000 (about £73,750) to the children’s non-profit organisation Boys and Girls Club of America.

But if speeches ran for more than 45 seconds, he said he would deduct $1,000 dollars from the total amount being donated – while those under the time limit would add more cash.

“I know, it’s brutal,” he said. “This is a game I’ve made up and these are rules.”

But with the speeches running over, the donation limit decreased. Bargatze told the crowd as he closed the show.

“The number, I’ll be honest, it was embarrassing. It went way down. So CBS is going to add $100,000. I will give $250,000 dollars. It takes us to $350,000 dollars to the Boys and Girls Club.”