Warrington-born Adolescence star Owen Cooper becomes youngest ever male Emmy winner

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Owen Cooper Emmys

Owen Cooper accepting the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series at the 2025 Emmys / Credit: Television Academy (via YouTube).

Owen Cooper has made history.

The Warrington-born actor who burst onto the scene as a newcomer in the Netflix smash-hit drama series Adolescence, starring alongside other big names like Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty, and Ashley Walters, has become the youngest winner ever in any male acting category at last nights Emmy Awards 2025.

He took home the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series.

At just 15 years old, Cooper beat out his fellow co-star Ashley Walters for the award, as well as other renowned actors like Javier Bardem, Peter Sarsgaard, and Rob Delaney.

Adolescence, if you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, is a four-part limited series about a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murdering one of his classmates – with each episode remarkably being filmed in one unflinching and continuous shot.

The truly gripping story unfolds in real time as the main characters search for answers in the wake of a shocking tragedy.

Who is actually responsible? Why did it happen? And could it have been prevented? 

Adolescence gained universal critical acclaim when it debuted on Netflix earlier this year / Credit: Netflix

Cooper was a complete screen newcomer starring as the young boy Eddie Miller, accused of murder, and the show tells the story of how a family’s world is turned upside because of it.

Taking to the stage to accept his award last night, Cooper – who began taking weekly acting lessons with The Drama Mob here in Manchester – said: “[The win] is just so surreal. Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind [at The Emmys].

“So I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.”

Elsewhere on the night, Adolescence cleaned up as a whole.

Co-creator and star of the show, Stephen Graham, took home the Best Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series award, as well as a Writing award alongside co-writer Jack Thorne, while Erin Doherty claimed the Best Supporting Actress accolade in the same category, and director Philip Barantini won the Best Director award.

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And of course, to top off all those brilliant acting and technical wins, the show Adolescence itself also won Best Limited or Anthology Series.

You can watch Owen Cooper’s acceptance speech in full here.

Featured Image – Television Academy / Emmys (via YouTube)