15-year-old actor Owen Cooper became the youngest male to ever receive an acting award when he won Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his performance in “Adolescence.”
The short series is a chilling story in which Jamie Miller (Cooper) is accused of stabbing one of his classmates. Miller undergoes intense interviews and psychological assessments as authorities try to uncover the truth. Each episode is filmed in one long take to enhance the emotional tension of the show.
“I read an article in the newspaper, which was about a young boy who had stabbed a young girl to death. And … I was stunned by what I was reading,” series co-creator and star Stephen Graham said in an interview with Sam Briger.
“And then, about three or four months later, there was a story on the news … about a young boy who had stabbed a young girl to death, and this incident was the opposite end of the country to the first incident that I’d read about.”
Graham has helped Cooper build his emotions, enhance his performance and make everyone seem scared of someone so young. Despite Cooper’s confidence on screen, this is his first onscreen acting credit. Cooper has two upcoming projects in his filmography: The BBC series “Film Club” and Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.”
“I only really wanted to start acting a couple of years ago. It’s not been long,” he said in an interview with Colson Thayer. “I grew up wanting to be a footballer. I don’t know what it was that made me want to do it, but I just wanted to do it. And then I went to lessons and enjoyed it.”
However, Cooper is not the youngest actor to ever win an Emmy. On Sept. 30, 1984, 14-year-old Roxana Za won Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for her televised film “Something about Amelia”. This story is about Amelia Bennitt who is sexually assaulted by her father. Bennitt sees her sister grow up to go through the same struggles and finally speaks up. Having to portray a certain emotion can be difficult for child stars on set. However, after the film aired, Zal received messages and letters from other people sharing their experiences with sexual assault.
“I found myself going home depressed and drained. I never went to work happy once. I could never be happy; I always had to be upset,” Zal said in an interview with TMZ.
After completing her second year at the University of California, Los Angeles, Zal cut back on her film career to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer.
“From one history maker to another, welcome to the club, Owen; cheers,” Zal said in an interview with TMZ.
