At 15, Owen Cooper is now the youngest ever Primetime Emmy winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — and the youngest male acting winner, period. The “Adolescence” star took home the trophy on Sunday night, beating out his five adult fellow nominees: costar Ashley Walters, plus Javier Bardem, Bill Camp, Peter Sarsgaard and Rob Delaney.
Cooper had already made history in July when he became the youngest-ever nominee in the supporting actor in a limited series category. Now he’s got the gold to seal his place in the record books. Not too shabby for a kid from outside Manchester, England, who had no acting experience prior to making the Netflix’s limited series created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham.
Prior to this year’s ceremony, Jharrel Jerome was the youngest supporting actor in a limited series winner, an honor he earned in 2019 at age 21 for Netflix’s “When They See Us.”
Cooper isn’t the youngest overall acting winner. That distinction still belongs to Roxana Zal, who was 14 when she won best supporting actress in a limited series in 1984 for “Something About Amelia.”
Kristy McNichol also holds an impressive record as the only person to win two Primetime Emmys before turning 18. She took home her first statuette on her fifteenth birthday in 1977 for (the now defunct category) Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress In A Drama Series for “Family.” Two years later, she picked up Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the same show.
Other young winners in the acting categories include Zendaya, who was 24 when she became the youngest-ever Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series champ in 2020 for “Euphoria”; Michael J. Fox, 25, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Family Ties” in 1986; Richard Thomas, 21, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for “The Waltons” in 1973; Scott Jacoby, 16, Outstanding Supporting Actor for the TV movie “That Certain Summer” in 1973; Anthony Murphy, 17, Outstanding Lead Actor for the PBS limited series “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” in 1973.
And the youngest ever nominees who did not win? In first place is Keshia Knight Pulliam, who scored a comedy supporting actress nod for “The Cosby Show” in 1986, when she was just 6 years old. Tied for second are Fred Savage and Millie Bobby Brown, both 13 when they received their first noms — he for comedy lead actor in 1989 for “The Wonder Years” and she for drama supporting actress in 2017 for “Stranger Things.”
Other notable young’uns who were recognized by the TV Academy but didn’t win: Malcolm Jamal Warner, 16, supporting comedy actor for “The Cosby Show” in 1986; Asante Blackk, 17, limited series supporting actor for “When They See Us” in 2019; Claire Danes, 16, lead drama actress for “My So-Called Life” in 1995; and Patty Duke, 18, continued lead actress for “The Patty Duke Show” in 1964.
