‘Adolescence’ star Owen Cooper recalls filming out of ‘comfort zone’

Netflix’s gritty teen series Adolescence pushed Owen Cooper out of his comfort zone as he portrayed a 14-year-old schoolboy accused of murder.

Cooper, who became the youngest Emmy nominee ever for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie, reflected on the experience in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

The breakout teen actor recalled that when director Philip Barantini revealed the series would be shot in a single take, he initially assumed it would apply to just one scene or episode.

His excitement quickly turned into nerves when he realised that all four episodes would be filmed in one continuous shot.

“As soon as I got the script, I went up to my room, highlighted it all, and then stayed up until about 1 in the morning rehearsing,” he shared. “I didn’t want to be the one to mess it up and make us start over from the beginning — which, thankfully, never happened. I didn’t prepare mentally for the role; I prepared the script.”

The young rising talent admitted he was particularly anxious because the production began with episode three.

“I was going through the script, and I was waiting for my lines to end because they just kept going on and on. I almost cried that I had that many lines,” he said with a laugh.

Cooper also opened up about the mental struggle of embodying a character so far removed from his real-life personality.

“And the bit where I’m standing over Erin saying, ‘What was that, what was that?’ — in rehearsals, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I hated every second of it. It just wasn’t in my comfort zone whatsoever, but I got used to it by the end,” Cooper admitted.

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