Owen Cooper, the 16-year-old star of Adolescence, makes history by winning Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series at the Actor Awards. Formerly known as the SAG Awards, the ceremony crowns him the youngest individual winner ever, surpassing Kate Winslet’s record.

Record-Breaking Performance

Winslet earned her award at age 20 for portraying Marianne Dashwood in Ang Lee’s 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, co-starring Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and Hugh Grant. Cooper eclipses that mark with his intense role as a 13-year-old schoolboy who murders a female classmate in the miniseries Adolescence.

He defeats strong competition, including Stephen Graham, who played his on-screen father and co-created the series with Jack Thorne.

Absence from the Ceremony

Cooper skips the Los Angeles event, with presenter Damson Idris accepting the award. Idris jokes, ‘I’ll be taking this home, thank you.’ His absence aligns with filming on Cry to Heaven, Tom Ford’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1982 novel about a castrated 18th-century Italian nobleman turned opera soprano. Principal photography occurs in Italy and the UK.

The star-studded cast features Adele in her acting debut, alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicolas Hoult, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Thandiwe Newton, Paul Bettany, Ciaran Hinds, Hunter Schafer, and Lux Pascal.

Awards Season Dominance

Cooper’s win caps a streak for Adolescence, filmed when he was 14. At 15, he becomes the youngest male Primetime Emmy winner for Supporting Actor in a Limited Series. Backstage, he tells reporters the honor ‘means so much to me and to my family, people back home.’

His UK friends, he notes, ‘were probably not even awake’ at four in the morning but ‘will be over the moon.’ In January, while preparing for GCSEs, he claims the youngest Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in Television, second only to Ricky Schroder’s 1980 win at age nine.

In his Golden Globe speech, Cooper reflects: ‘What started off as what I thought I might be okay at, I might be awful at – I took a risk and I went to drama classes. I was the only boy there. It was embarrassing but I got through it.’ He adds, ‘I’m still very much an apprentice, I’m still learning every day… I wouldn’t be here without you guys. This is mad. What is going on?’

Adolescence also honors Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty during awards season.

Actor Awards 2026 Key Winners

Film Categories

• Cast in a Motion Picture: Sinners
• Male Actor in a Leading Role: Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
• Female Actor in a Leading Role: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
• Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
• Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Amy Madigan (Weapons)

Television Categories

• Ensemble in a Drama Series: The Pitt
• Male Actor in a Drama Series: Noah Wyle (The Pitt)
• Female Actor in a Drama Series: Keri Russell (The Diplomat)
• Ensemble in a Comedy Series: The Studio
• Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Seth Rogen (The Studio)
• Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Catherine O’Hara (The Studio)
• Male Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series: Owen Cooper (Adolescence)
• Female Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series: Michelle Williams (Dying For Sex)