Adolescence star Owen Cooper reveals 'amazing' unscripted moment in Netflix series

18 March 2025, 15:26

There are some unscripted moments in Adolescence. Picture: Netflix

By Hope Wilson

Following rave reviews, standout star of Adolescence Owen Cooper has revealed a surprising unscripted moment in the series.

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Adolescence star Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie Miller, has revealed a secret unscripted moment from the Netflix series which was kept in the final edit.

Filmed in one take, the show written by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne documents the rise of incel culture, featuring actors including Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Faye Marsay and Hannah Walters.

As many of us have become amazed by the incredible filming techniques, 15-year-old Owen has opened up about the recording schedule, and how one impromptu moment made it into the end cut.

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Speaking on The One Show, Owen revealed: "In episode three, it was the second take of the day - we do two takes a day."

Owen Cooper stars as Jamie Miller in Adolescence. Picture: Netflix

He continued: "I was tired, so a yawn came to me. Then Erin did an amazing line, she said, 'Am I boring you?'"

Owen added: "That took me back and made me smile because it wasn’t in the script. I wasn’t expecting that at all, but it was amazing."

The youngster went on to reveal how he found acting in a high-pressured environment, saying: "Stephen, Erin - she's amazing in episode three. It was just the people around me that I could bounce off."

He later said: "A lot of it is not followed by the script in episode three, so me and Erin just bounced off each other."

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Adolescence focusses on the story of Jamie Miller. Picture: Netflix

Actor and creator of Adolescence Stephen spoke to Heart Breakfast about Owen's talents, telling Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden: "He had no experience. He was 13 when he shot it, he’s now 15.

The Peaky Blinders star added: "He just stood out he had this unique ability, very similar to what I saw in Jodie Comer."

Watch Stephen Graham discuss Adolescence here:

Stephen Graham discusses gripping new Netflix drama Adolescence! 👀

Many fans took to X, formally known as Twitter, to discuss the stellar acting in the series.

One user wrote: "Highly recommend watching Adolescence on Netflix. It does an excellent job of laying out how kids are being affected by incel culture online. Impeccable acting, writing, and cinematography. And the fact that it’s shot in one long continuous take. Brilliant show"

Another added: "Just finished all four episodes of Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’. At times painfully difficult to watch. But one of the most powerful and relevant British TV dramas ever made. Acting, photography, scripting and production flawless. Deserves to scoop every TV award going."

While a third stated: "The acting in Adolescence on Netflix is phenomenal like everyone is clocked in"