Owen Cooper became the youngest ever male Primetime Emmy Award winner on Sunday (14.09.25).
Owen Cooper made history
The 15-year-old actor was just 14 years old when he filmed crime drama Adolescence and he made history when he scooped the Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series prize at the ceremony, beating off competition from co-star Ashley Walters, Javier Bardem (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), Bill Camp (Presumed Innocent), Rob Delaney (Dying for Sex), and Peter Sarsgaard (Presumed Innocent).
Owen was stunned by his success.
He said on stage at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater: “Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind here.
“But I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.”
“I was nothing about three years ago, and I’m here now.”
Roxana Zal was the youngest ever Emmy winner, being 14 when she won in 1984 for Something About Amelia, while Kirsty McNichol won twice in the 1970s for her role in Family when she was 15 and 17. Scott Jacoby of That Certain Summer and Anthony Murphy of Tom Brown’s School Days, are the only other teenages to have won Primetime Emmy, being 16 and 17 respectively when they won in 1973.
Later in the evening, Owen’s co-star Erin Doherty won the Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series accolade ahead of co-star Christine Tremarco, and Ruth Negga (Presumed Innocent), Deirdre O’Connell (The Penguin), Chloë Sevigny (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story) and Jenny Slate (Dying for Sex).
She said: Wow. It’s looking like I’m just going to be banging on about Adolescence and Owen Cooper for the rest of my life, but you know, there’s worse things.
“I would love to mention every single person involved in the making of this show because it was the definition of a team effort. But I can’t get up here without talking about Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters. You are generosity personified – even though Stephen called mea tea cosy today.”
