Adolescence: How Teen Owen Cooper Scored a Leading Role with a Self Tape
posted 22nd March 2025
Note: Minor spoilers for episodes 1 & 3 of Adolescence in this article.
Netflix's Adolescence premiered to over 20 million views in its first four days (Source: Variety), and you have most likely struggled to avoid hearing about it on social media and from people in your surroundings. For good reason—the one-take-per-episode format has gotten people talking about the show's important themes, technical brilliance, and performances. But one stand-out performance is that of Owen Cooper, who plays the 13-year-old Jamie, who is accused of murdering a girl from his school.
Owen is not a known actor, and even more so, he has never acted in film or television before and his audition for Adolescence began with a self tape. Let's dive into Owen's audition process for Adolescence and see how you can also book roles through a self tape.
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How Did Owen Cooper Get Cast in Adolescence
Looking through Owen Cooper's filmography, it is clear he has zero credits before Adolescence. Owen spent time in local drama classes in Warrington, where he is from, looking up to fellow British actor Tom Holland. In Owen Cooper's self-tape for Adolescence, Owen was asked by the casting director to perform two different takes: in both versions the character Owen played someone that said they were not guilty of something, but in one take his character actually was guilty and in the other take, his character was innocent. This self tape led to in-person auditions, including an audition alongside Stephen Graham himself (Source: i-d).
Despite his lack of on-screen experience, Owen Cooper has been praised by Adolescence's creator and fellow actor Stephen Graham for his ability to listen to other actors and for being off-book despite the lengthy one-take episodes. Furthermore, Graham compares Owen Cooper to fellow Scouser and Killing Eve actor Jodie Comer for the magic both actors bring to the screen (Source: Vanity Fair).
Owen Cooper is next starring as the younger version of Euphoria and Saltburn's Jacob Elordi's Heathcliff, alongside Margot Robbie, in Emerald Fennell's upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
How To Nail a Performance Like Owen Cooper Did in Adolescence
So, what can other actors take away from Owen Cooper's self tape and performance in Adolescence?
For this, let's look at episode 3, in which Jamie speaks to his psychologist for the entire episode. Owen takes Jamie on a journey, starting off playful, then occasionally opening up about his feelings about women and himself, until he is triggered, leading to explosive behavior. What makes Owen's performance so good is his presence with the other actor, Erin Doherty, who plays psychologist Briony. Nothing in Owen's performance ever indicates that he is aware of the cameras around him. He purely focuses on Erin and is quick to respond to her tone.
There is even a moment in the take that ended up in the episode where Owen yawns, which was unscripted. Erin jumps on this quickly by saying, "Am I boring you?" to which Owen gives her a cheeky smile back, never breaking character (Source: the tab).
In the video above, Owen also said that he was entirely off-book, meaning he was able to just focus on what the scene needed rather than searching for lines.
Being able to perform for a full one-take episode means you are forced to let go, not think about yourself, but only the character and be present in the moment, as only then can you capture a surprising moment like that. You can take this away in your next self tape by knowing your lines in and out, but making decisions about your behaviour while in character and seeing how that informs your performance.
Book The Self Tape Studio is led by Julian, an experienced actor with a diverse range of roles in film and television, including acting credits in Netflix shows as well. Don't wait—book a session with the studio today to get the most out of your next self-tape.
If you enjoy reading about other actors' self tapes and processes, you may also enjoy:
Taking Risks: How Dacre Montgomery’s Self Tape Audition for Stranger Things Landed Him the Role of Billy
Lily-Rose Depp's Nosferatu Audition: Breaking Down Her Self Tape
