Owen Cooper, a 16-year-old from Warrington, has become the youngest ever Golden Globe winner after taking home the award for best supporting male actor for his role in Netflix's drama Adolescence. The show, which explores themes of male toxicity, was one of the biggest winners at the ceremony, securing four awards.
Cooper's former drama teacher, Esther Morgan of the Drama Mob, says his talent was evident from the start. 'You could tell he definitely wanted it,' she said. 'He wasn't messing around when it came to listening, taking direction and learning his lines.' Morgan pushed back at the idea that Cooper came from nowhere, noting he had two years of training before being cast.
Cooper's success is already inspiring more boys to take up drama, according to Morgan. 'Since Owen going on to be so successful, we have had more boys coming to drama,' she said. 'I think he's helped with that [by] having that role model.' Statistics show a significant gender gap in drama education, with only 17,000 boys taking GCSE drama in 2025 compared to 35,700 girls.
The show's co-writer, Jack Thorne, expressed cautious optimism that Adolescence could pave the way for more working-class British dramas. 'I know from trying to sell stuff I've made abroad before that accents and British 'issues' were not seen as having an audience abroad,' he said. 'But who knows?'
