Owen Cooper had one concern on his mind while filming the Netflix hit adolescence: What if his friends treat him differently after the show?
In a new interview with Dazed, Owen discussed his life after the global success of adolescence, making him the youngest male Emmy winner for Best Supporting Actor.
Despite his newfound global fame, the 15-year-old is continuing his studies and will sit his GCSE exams next summer.
And his friends and teachers all treat him the same as before.
“My friends aren’t really concerned about it. They messaged me saying ‘well done,’ but they don’t really care,” he told the magazine.
He continued: “The teachers obviously cared about it – it drove them crazy. But my friends don’t really watch stuff about me on the internet. And I’m actually glad they don’t – when I was filming the show I did think, ‘What if everyone changes? What if all my friends change?'”
“But I still get yelled at by the teachers at school. I still get taken out of my mind. It’s all good. I’m glad they haven’t changed,” he said.
Adolescence followed a teenage Jamie, played by Owen, who becomes brainwashed by online mysgogynistic content. The show served to highlight the global problem of young boys learning misogynistic principles online.
Owen also reflected on how the show resonated with people in many countries and cultures.
“When the show came out, I had no idea what to expect. I thought people might watch it in Britain, but it clearly resonated with people and traveled all over the world,” he noted.
“But when we were on set, I don’t think anyone expected it to blow up like that. So when there was talk about the Emmys, it was crazy. No one knew that was going to happen,” he added.
Owen Cooper has since starred in the BBC show Film club.
