It seems like the whole world is watching — and raving about — the gripping psychological crime series Adolescence, a haunting story about a murder and the repercussions of young rage. But there’s one key person who hasn’t been watching: the actor at the center of the story, Owen Cooper. Adolescence was the teenage Cooper’s first ever professional acting job, and the Warrington, England, native says he hasn’t yet figured out how to face the “cringe” of watching himself on screen. He may be a marvel on the show, so skilled that you’d think he’d done this hundreds of times, but in reality, he’s a newcomer, working out how to hone his craft and perfect his process in real time, right there in front of the camera.

It’s not exactly an easy entry point role: In the show —  created by Jack Thorne and co-star Stephen Graham, and directed by Philip Barantini — Cooper plays the shadowy and ominous 13-year-old Jamie, a suspect in the grisly killing of his classmate, Katie. Famously, each episode of Adolescence was filmed in a single take, meaning the acting experience was more like a stage play than a TV series, without breaks in between shots for the actors to collect their bearings and check their lines. Cooper had the macabre task of engendering empathy — or, at least, relatability — for an angry young man implicated in a horrendous murder.

Cooper, then entirely unknown, was discovered by casting director Shaheen Baig, who has previously worked on Black Mirror and Peaky Blinders. She came upon Cooper’s demo tape from a submission sent to the Adolescence team by his local drama school, Drama Mob. Though Baig looked at about 500 boys, she saw something in Cooper — an intelligence, a naturalness, an ease on camera — that caught her eye, and she eventually brought him in for a proper audition and a chemistry read with Graham, who would be playing Jamie’s father, Eddie. Not even a year after filming started, the show was unleashed on the world, breaking streaming records and fostering difficult conversations about masculinity and social media use amongst youth.

Cooper, who is still in school, has remained remarkably cool and collected even in the center of the pop cultural storm. Here, Emmy-nominees Cooper and Baig discuss the process of becoming Jamie — and what comes next for this new generational talent.  

Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller and Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller

The first time stepping on to the Adolescence set being the first time stepping foot on any set — what does that feel like?

Owen Cooper: It was loads of emotions. It’s like walking off a plane on holiday and feeling the warm air getting to you. I was so nervous, but there was joy. I couldn’t wait to get on set every day. I woke up two hours early to get ready for the day. I skipped. I would skip to set every single day.

How did you get into acting? 

Cooper: To be honest, I don’t know. It was a day when I woke up and it just clicked in me that I wanted to start doing it. I don’t know where it came from, but I asked my mom and dad if I could start going to drama [classes], and I think they were a bit shocked by it because I've always wanted to become a footballer. I still play football now, and then asking them if I wanted to start drama lessons, it was a bit out of the blue, really.

You originally thought you wanted to end up playing for Liverpool, not be an actor, right? 

Cooper: Yeah.

Do you remember, Shaheen, the first time you saw Owen on his audition tape? 

Shaheen Baig: Owen sent us an improv tape, and I remember first watching that, and thinking, “OK. He looks great on camera, but also his improv was really smart.” It felt very natural. We obviously knew we had to make up a family, and we knew we had to find somebody who could play Stephen’s son, but apart from that, it was completely wide open. It was really [about] trying to find somebody with the emotional register to be able to play Jamie.

The first episode shot was actually the most intense — Episode 3, when it’s basically just Owen and Erin Doherty, who plays Briony, a psychologist, engaged in heated conversation. Owen has a pretty wild moment of aggressive confrontation in the scene, too.

Cooper: It was hard reading it in the script. I was a bit like, “Oh, I don’t know about that.” But it was a fear that I overcame really fast, because I was in such a nice environment on set. We had two weeks of rehearsal to prepare. The first week would be with the actors, and the second week would be with the camera rehearsing, so I had two full weeks to get over the fear and out of my comfort zone. By the third week, which was shoot week, I would’ve done anything that the director told me to because I was in such a nice and safe environment. Anything that the director would throw at me, I’d catch it.

Baig: You felt safe. 

Cooper: Yeah.

Baig: I just felt immensely proud of what the two of them had achieved, because it was seamless. I thought, “Gosh, this is not the sort of television we get to see very often.” 

Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty on the set of Adolescence

How do you describe that kind of chemistry magic? 

Baig: It’s very hard to articulate chemistry, and actors ask that question all the time. It’s really about how actors connect with one another. I think if actors are connecting in a truthful way, you see that onscreen.

Cooper: When you’re there, across from Erin, it’s simple, because she’s that good of an actor that you can just bounce off her. She was just present and she was there. It was perfect. 

How was the process of learning to leave the emotions and mentality of such a fraught character like Jamie on set? Is that tricky? 

Cooper: As soon as they shout “Cut,” I’m back to myself. I think the lack of experience on a film set contributed to that. I think the fact that I’m a million miles away from Jamie helps. I’d hit reality quite quick after a take. But I’m glad that it was easy, because I feel like I would’ve had some problems if Jamie came home with me. 

It was such a nice film set to be on as well, so it wouldn’t be like, “Oh. My mind’s spiraling.” It was in the summer, and everyone was there, and it was just amazing, to be honest.

Baig: I was about to say, I think the production created a wonderful environment on set. Every scene in the drama is difficult. It’s difficult stuff. But actually, it was a really wonderful, warm, fun crew, and there was loads of stuff for you to do. And because you hadn’t done it before, it was kind of brilliant that Owen could really just enjoy it, rather than there being a heaviness around what you were doing.

How do you learn 40 pages of dialogue? Each episode was all filmed in one shot, so you didn’t have the opportunity to check the script between scenes. 

Cooper: It was because I was so scared of not learning it, that it made me want to learn it so badly. I was doing it for about four hours a day, just constantly learning it. I didn’t think I would ever be able to do it. 

Baig: You should use the same technique for your [school] exams! [laughs]

Cooper: I probably did it too much, because if I was to watch it now — which I haven’t, because I hate watching myself — I’d be able to reel off lines, because I was doing it so much that it just stuck in my mind. 

Shaheen Baig and Owen Cooper

Photograph by Daniel Dorsa

Wait — you haven’t watched the show? 

Cooper: No. Being there is better than watching it on a screen. I just hate watching myself. It cringes me out. 

Baig: But I think that’s a really lovely answer, because like you said, you were there. You were part of it, so actually, in a way, watching it doesn’t really matter. You’ve experienced it. 

What has this project taught you, Owen, about what you want to do with your career? 

Cooper: That I’d do this happily for the rest of my life. I think Adolescence was the perfect start for me. I think I did get very lucky to be a part of it. I just wanted to grab the opportunity with both hands. I went in there just wanting to learn. Wanting to do the job, really. And I’ll take that into every other job that I’ll ever, ever do.