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Netflix’s Adolescence came in as possibly the most talked-about limited series of the past year and has earned critical praise for its storytelling and the compelling performances.
The drama centers around 13-year-old Jamie Miller, who is charged and taken into custody for the murder of a teenage girl at his school, becoming a searing and emotionally crippling examination of guilt, trauma, and the legal system.
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During the 2026 Critics' Choice Awards, Owen Cooper, who plays the central character of Jamie in Adolescence, got into the spotlight and was asked about what keeps him grounded despite the success of the show and his character's performance. The actor expressed that mostly it was his family and the people around him who didn't let the success overpower Cooper's grounded self.
Cooper has received widespread acclaim for his performance, winning Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television at the 2026 Critics' Choice Awards.
Keep reading to know what else the actor said at the award ceremony.
Here is what Owen Cooper shared about what keeps him grounded after the success of Adolescence
Having achieved sudden fame after the success of the Netflix drama Adolescence, Cooper says that remaining grounded was easy, given the people who surround him. Speaking to journalists in the press room following his win at the Critics’ Choice, the actor revealed how he has stayed grounded despite all the attention.
“I've got my family around me [and] I've got amazing friends, you know?” Cooper said. “I've got amazing people around me.”
He had already broken records by winning an Emmy Award in the same category, making him the youngest male actor to win an Emmy, as well as the youngest nominee in that category. Taking this year’s Critics' Choice television awards by storm with six nominations and winning all of the major awards, Adolescence’s dominance has been undisputed, and Cooper is flying high.
He explained that the key to keeping a sense of self intact has been normalcy.
“I went to school the day after Adolescence came out, and it was just the same. I tried to keep it the same,” Cooper said.
Therefore, we can say that routine helped ground him against the sudden success he described as so disorienting.
"I've got the best support, best protection, so I can't not keep my feet on the ground."
On January 4, during his Critics' Choice Awards acceptance speech, Cooper also tearfully discussed how being on the show changed his life and his family's life.
"This past year has been a complete whirlwind for me and my family, honestly," he said. "It's changed our lives forever. We're forever grateful. We cherish every single moment of it."
In addition to his Critics' Choice win, Cooper is also up this year at the Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, and Independent Spirit Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series.
Along with the wins for Adolescence for Best Limited Series and Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, Cooper’s grounded perspective is starkly at odds with the size of his success, making his narrative all the more compelling.
Watch Adolescence only on Netflix if you haven't yet.
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