Owen Cooper, the 16-year-old breakout star of Netflix's 'Adolescence,' has won the BAFTA TV Award for best supporting actor, completing an unprecedented clean sweep of major television honours for his first-ever screen role.
The win at Sunday night's ceremony in London cements Cooper's place in TV history; he is already the youngest actor to win the Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and Critics Choice Award for a single performance.
Almost 14 months after 'Adolescence' launched, the four-part limited series has also triumphed at the Gotham Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and Royal Television Society Awards. Cooper beat Ashley Walters, Fehinti Balogun, Joshua McGuire, Paddy Considine and Rafael Mathé to the BAFTA.
'Wow, it's heavy that to be fair,' Cooper said as he accepted the award. 'A year ago this time last year I was presenting an award and now I'm collecting one, so this is a bit mad.' He thanked the 'Adolescence' family and quoted John Lennon: 'You won't get anything unless you have the vision to imagine it.'
Cooper was cast at age 13 with no prior professional acting experience. His central episode, filmed in a single continuous hour-long take opposite Erin Doherty, earned particular critical recognition and was nominated for BAFTA's Memorable Moment Award. Co-star Christine Tremarco, who played his mother, also won best supporting actress.
