Speaking at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool, Adolescence director Philip Barantini described how Owen Cooper won the role of Jamie Miller. The Warrington-born 16-year-old has since starred alongside Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the blockbuster film Wuthering Heights, become the youngest male actor to receive an Emmy nomination and was named best supporting actor in a television series at the Golden Globes earlier this year.
The Netflix drama follows Stephen Graham’s Eddie Miller, whose life is turned upside down when his son Jamie, played by Cooper, is accused of murder. It made British TV history as the first streaming show to become the most-watched programme the week it was released, and its social commentary on knife crime and the manosphere made it a global talking point.
Hundreds of tapes and one standout audition
Barantini, a Huyton-born director who also worked on Enola Holmes 3, told the audience: “We saw around 500 tapes from actors of different ages. We knew Jamie was thirteen, but we looked at thirteen-year-olds and also older teenagers who could play younger. Every time Owen came back, he just stood out because of his raw ability and naturalism.”
He added: “Every time Owen came in, he blew us away. Stephen Graham is from Liverpool, but we needed to cast Jamie first because his accent would determine where the rest of the family came from. Once we found Owen, we could build the family around him.”
Owen, who grew up in Orford, Warrington, remembered his audition in Manchester: “I remember walking into the room in Manchester. The weather was awful. I’d seen people going in and coming back out, and some looked disappointed, so that made me nervous. But when I walked in, Philip and everyone shook my hand and made me feel comfortable straight away. That helped with my confidence.”
He added: “I knew I could bring something to it, but I didn’t know whether it would be what they wanted. I just tried to be myself, shake everyone’s hand and go in with confidence.”
The script-free read-through
Barantini said Owen’s confidence set him apart: “That’s what came across. Owen walked in with this confidence and presence. Actors can sometimes get inside their own heads.”
Owen also made an impression by arriving at the read-through without a script. He said: “We did the read-through first. I turned up without my script because I’d spent hours learning it and Philip was looking at me as if to say, ‘Where’s your script?’ I just thought, I know it.”
Barantini recalled: “Yeah, everyone else arrived with a script and Owen didn’t have one. I thought, ‘Has he forgotten it?’ He was just completely off book. At fourteen. That was another moment when we realised how seriously he had taken it.”
He added: “He [Owen] had never had to carry anything like this before. That was when I realised the scale of what we were asking him to do.”
Life on set and going back to school
A Liverpool FC fan, Owen has remained true to his northern roots. He is the youngest of three, with siblings Ollie, 21, and Connor, 31, and spent two years at The Drama Mob theatre group before landing the memorable Netflix role. After filming, he decided to return to school.
Owen found his own ways to relax while portraying such a hard-hitting role, including listening to music on the way to set. “Before action I could be nervous, but as soon as action was called, I was fine. I just wanted to go. On the way to set I’d listen to music: The Beatles, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys - that helped me get into the right place but once we started, it was about looking at the other actor, listening and reacting to what was happening.”
He explained: “Some scenes were very emotional and sometimes I had been working on the same section of the script for weeks. Once you are in that zone, it can actually feel good because you are completely inside it.”
Owen told the audience: “It’s changed a lot, obviously, but I still try to keep things as normal as I can. I’ve gone back to school, I’ve been to prom, I’m still seeing my mates and doing all the normal things. School’s always been important to me.”
“Even with everything that’s happened, I wanted to finish school properly. And honestly... my teachers still tell me off! They don’t treat me any differently, which I actually think is a good thing. When I’m at school, I’m just another student.”
