Teenage acting sensation Owen Cooper has announced he will leave formal education behind once he completes his GCSEs to focus entirely on his burgeoning screen career.
From Classroom to Red Carpet
The 16-year-old from Warrington, Cheshire, rocketed to fame with his critically praised role in the 2025 Netflix hit Adolescence. Portraying murder suspect Jamie Miller opposite Stephen Graham, his performance made him the youngest male ever to win a primetime Emmy Award for best supporting actor in a limited series.
Appearing on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show New Year's Eve special, Owen confirmed his plans. "I've still got my GCSEs to do," he told the host and fellow guests Carey Mulligan, Laura Dern, Will Arnett and Tom Hiddleston. "I've only got about six months left and then I am gone – and then hopefully I am going to be an actor."
Awards Success and Future Prospects
Reflecting on his whirlwind Emmy win in Los Angeles, Owen described it as "the best day of my life." He said, "It was crazy and all a bit of a blur. The amount of people I met there was insane." Despite the sudden fame, he claimed he always believed Adolescence would be special. "Straight away I thought it was going to be more than a TV show – I read the script and then heard the word 'Netflix'."
His incredible awards streak is set to continue. The schoolboy has now received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the 2026 ceremony. If he wins, he will once again make history by becoming the youngest ever recipient in that category, surpassing Glee's Chris Colfer, who was 20 when he won in 2009.
Making History and Moving Forward
Adolescence earned a total of five Golden Globe nominations, including nods for co-stars Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty and Ashley Walters. Owen faces competition from the latter, as well as Jason Isaacs and Walton Goggins from The White Lotus.
Other young Golden Globe winners include Tatum O'Neal, who was ten when she won for 1973's Paper Moon, and Rocky Schroeder, who was nine when he won for The Champ in 1980.
Since his breakthrough, Owen has already returned to screens in the new BBC series Film Club, starring The White Lotus actress Aimee Lou Wood. His full interview aired on The Graham Norton Show on BBC One and iPlayer at 10.30pm on New Year's Eve.
