Words by Sreya Nair

Netflix’s Adolescence, released last month, is a four-episode limited series covering the events of a gruesome murder of a young schoolgirl in England, from the impressive directorial skills of episodes being singular continuous shots to the insightful and pervasive portrayal of fragile masculinity among teenage boys engaging in a hyper-masculine digital world. This show has become a significant and necessary warning for today’s world. Most notable, however, is the performance by Owen Cooper, portraying the young convicted murderer Jamie Miller. Throughout the series, we know Jamie killed his classmate – this is not an investigative mystery – yet in the beginning, we feel almost sympathetic for him. The first episode begins with Jamie’s arrest. The 13-year-old is terrified as he is pulled out of bed. We can hear his mother’s pleading cries, begging the officers to let him go and insisting he is innocent. 

The third episode is where Jamie shows his true colors. His initially kind demeanor towards his appointed psychiatrist, played by Erin Doherty, abruptly ends when he breaks down over having to stay in the psychiatric ward. His psychiatrist tries calming him down, urging him to sit, to which he yells, “You do not tell me when to sit down! You do not control what I fucking– look at me now! You do not control what I do in my life! Get that in that fucking little head of yours!” Cooper portrays an intense, uncontrollable anger in this scene. Shortly after, however, Jamie returns to a calmer demeanor. This time, he chillingly taunts, “Are you alright? You look a bit red. Did I scare you when I shouted?” Sitting back in his chair with a slight grimace, his eye contact with his psychiatrist is menacingly unbreaking. The switch from explosive anger to sociopathic calm is nearly immediate. 

In watching this series I believed Cooper was a seasoned actor. After all, his portrayal of Jamie’s complex emotions of teenage insecurity and malicious sociopathy came across naturally. However, Adolescence is Cooper’s first acting job. In an interview with Variety, 15-year-old Cooper described his interest in acting as beginning recently – “I only really wanted to start acting a couple of years ago. It’s not been long. I grew up wanting to be a footballer. I don’t know what it was that made me want to do it, but I just wanted to do it.” Despite this recent interest, critics have commended his ability in bringing his character to life. 

In casting Jamie, director Phillip Barantini made it clear that he wanted someone younger, emphasizing that getting someone older would cause changes in mannerisms, body language, voice, and appearance. In the same Variety interview, Barantini outlines his process of finding Cooper to be someone who looks and acts like a 13-year-old boy: i.e., a 13-year-old boy. “Shaheen Baig, who’s our casting director, is amazing at finding new talent. She really goes above and beyond in terms of where she looks. I said to her early on that we should look in the drama schools, youth clubs and established theater schools.”

We’ve all seen countless teen dramas where 16-year-olds are portrayed by 30-year-old actors, failing to use the younger generation’s slang naturally and coming across as far too mature to be a believable high school student. Barantini’s choice of having an actor of a similar age to the character adds a level of realism necessary for a series like Adolescence. Based on true stories, the events occurring in the show cannot afford to be portrayed as unrealistic. By having authenticity woven throughout the series, the content becomes more digestible to viewers and its critique of toxic masculinity in teenage boys is fully absorbed. Owen Cooper’s performance was incredibly well received, so much so that he is now playing young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights (2026), starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie. Cooper has a bright career ahead of him and is sure to become a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.