WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) 鈥� hasn鈥檛 had thoughts of He鈥檚 hardly had time to develop that kind of ambition in his short time as an actor. But, presented with the idea, he鈥檚 intrigued. And amused.
鈥淚s that the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar and the Tony?鈥� he asks, with a laugh. 鈥淚鈥檝e got E, so I want it.鈥�
Cooper does, in fact, have 鈥淓.鈥� He won an this year, at 15, for his astonishing-for-any-age performance as a 13-year-old suspected of a killing in Netflix’s It was his first screen appearance, and his first performance that wasn鈥檛 for parents.
Still just 16, he’s now been named one of
Speaking to the AP while sitting on a balcony at a West Hollywood hotel, Cooper concedes he has no idea how he鈥檇 ever win a Grammy, though he loves music (Oasis, Stone Roses). And a Tony feels daunting, though the one-take episodes of 鈥淎dolescence鈥� required the work of a play.
鈥淓ven an Oscar,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how I鈥檒l win an Oscar.鈥�
But, more broadly, Cooper knows what he does want to do.
鈥淲hen I first started doing drama lessons, like I was just, I just didn鈥檛 want to do it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to look like an idiot in front of all these people. Now, I鈥檓 like, 鈥業 want to be one of those actors that are just fearless.鈥欌��
Cooper becomes Oscar-eligible in 2026, when he makes his film debut in director buzzy adaptation of 鈥淲uthering Heights,鈥� starring . Cooper plays the younger version of Heathcliff. He doesn’t share scenes with the leading stars, but they interacted plenty.
鈥淚鈥檇 always be going on set and they鈥檇 always just be coming off so I鈥檇 speak to Jacob loads,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 would always be next to Margot in the makeup chair so I speak to them quite a lot and they’re really nice people.鈥�
By the time the movie’s shoot was done, Cooper was a star in his own right. 鈥淎dolescence鈥� and all its acclaim arrived during filming of the Emily Bront毛 adaptation.
After the ordinary, modern environs of 鈥淎dolescence鈥� and the other series he鈥檚 shot, 鈥淔ilm Club鈥� 鈥� which premiered in October on BBC Three in the United Kingdom and is not yet available to watch in the U.S. 鈥� he was stunned by the setting, and the outfits, of 鈥淲uthering Heights.鈥�
鈥淭he attention to detail in that film was just insane,鈥� he says. 鈥淥bviously I鈥檝e not been in it a long time but it just blew my mind, like the set and just everything about it is just mad.鈥�
He鈥檒l remain in the distant past for his next film, director set in 18th century Italy and starring , and, in her acting debut, .
Cooper’s clearly a prodigy, but he’s no lab-grown child star or nepo baby. He’s the youngest of three brothers from a non-industry family, raised in Northern England’s Warrington, between Manchester and Liverpool. His accent has notes of both cities, but he’s a devoted supporter; soccer was the center of 鈥� and most of his waking hours.
鈥淚 grew up near, like, a park so I would be on there since 8 in the morning to midnight just playing football,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was just everything. I didn鈥檛 care about anything else.鈥�
Acting became a secondary hobby when he began classes at 12 at Manchester’s Drama MOB. But he loved it, and the school drew something special out of him that led to his landing 鈥淎dolescence鈥� over hundreds of other candidates.
, the series co-creator who won his own Emmy for playing Cooper鈥檚 father, has called him 鈥渢he talent of a generation鈥� and 鈥渢he next .鈥�
On that note, Cooper says he wants to work with 鈥済ods of the game鈥� like , and David Fincher. But he doesn’t want heavy drama to define him.
鈥淚 want to do horror, I want to do, like, a superhero, I want to do sci-fi,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 just want to do everything.鈥�
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