Owen Cooper is one of the youngest Emmy Award winners in history — and he did it with his first-ever professional acting role!
The actor, 15, took home the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role as Jamie Miller in Netflix’s Adolescence.
In the series, Cooper plays 13-year-old schoolboy who is arrested after the murder of a girl in his school. Including Cooper’s nomination, the series was nominated 13 times at this year’s ceremony.
Cooper was cast in the critically-acclaimed series after producers contacted his drama school in England and asked to view tapes of their strongest actors — and Cooper was selected for the role out of 500 auditions.
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Despite being only 15, Cooper is not the youngest Emmy winner ever — that title belongs to Roxana Zal, who won for her role in the TV film Something About Amelia at the age of 14. He is, however, the youngest winner ever for his category.
Cooper was nominated alongside Bill Camp, Javier Bardem, Rob Delaney, Peter Sarsgaard, and his Adolescence co-star Ashley Walters.
Following Cooper’s historic win, Emmys host Nate Bargatze joked that he would cover Cooper’s tab after he went over time with his speech. For this year’s Emmys, there is a $100,000 donation being made to the Boys & Girls Club, with money seemingly being taken away whenever a winner runs over time.
Though Cooper has made waves with his television debut — his career is just getting started. Fans can see Cooper as Young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell‘s Wuthering Heights film adaption, coming to theaters in February 2026.
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