Charlie Cooper | |
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| Born | 16 June 1989 Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
| Relatives | Daisy May Cooper (sister) Trevor Cooper (uncle) Mathew Baynton (second cousin) |
Charlie Cooper (born 16 June 1989) [1] is an English actor and writer, known for his role as Lee "Kurtan" Mucklowe in the BBC Three series This Country , which he co-created and co-wrote alongside his older sister, Daisy May Cooper.
Cooper began his career in his early 20s as a model while studying sports science at Exeter University for two years. He was signed to Elite Model Management in London. [2] He grew dissatisfied with modelling shortly afterward and returned home to Cirencester with his parents and worked a series of odd jobs, including positions at retailers Argos and Topshop and in a sausage factory. [3] [4]
In 2014 he and his sister Daisy May, with the support of ITV and NBC, wrote and shot a pilot episode of what would later become This Country titled Kerry. However, the resulting episode was "horrible" and it was quickly dropped. [5] [6] Later he became an actor and co-writer of the BBC comedy This Country with Daisy May, writing the characters Kerry and Kurtan based on their own life experiences living in the Cotswolds. [3] [7] [8]
In 2018 he was nominated for and won three Royal Television Awards for best Scripted Comedy, Comedy Performance and Comedy Writing. [9] He was also nominated for and won best Scripted Comedy at the 2018 BAFTA awards for his work in This Country, [10] as well as winning Breakthrough Talent at the BAFTA Craft Awards. [11] In 2020, he co-wrote and produced the teleplay for an episode of Avenue 5 , an HBO series that features his sister in a recurring role.
He starred alongside Steve Coogan in a scene in the 2019 film Greed .[ citation needed ] In 2019 The Guardian described his portrayal of Kevin, boyfriend of Sian O'Callaghan, in A Confession , ITV's dramatisation of the investigation of her murder, as "a fine performance that channels the role in This Country ... without repeating it". [12]
In 2021 Cooper took on a role in the third series of Stath Lets Flats, playing Gregory - a rival letting agent. [13] [14] Also in 2021, Cooper was a guest on Episode 6, Series 4 of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing . [15]
In September 2022, Cooper played his first "big film role" as Dennis Corrigan in See How They Run. [16]
In 2023, Cooper began voicing Trevor the dinosaur in an advertising campaign for retailer Argos. [17]
In November 2023 it was announced by Paramount+ that Cooper would star in a new original drama series Stags , filming on location in Tenerife which has since released in 2024. [18]
In October 2024 Charlie Cooper's Myth Country was released by BBC Three on BBC iPlayer. [19] The programme was an exploration of traditional British myths, legends and folk rituals. He has said that it was inspired by his work on This Country. [20]
In February 2025, Cooper guest starred in Am I Being Unreasonable? , which was co-created by his older sister Daisy May. [21]
Brought up in Cirencester, he and his sister used to make films using their mother's camcorder. [5] They both returned to their childhood home, where they shared a room, and worked night shifts as office cleaners whilst creating scripts for This Country. [4] He is a fan of Fulham F.C., having attended their play- off final in 2018. [22] [23] In August 2022, Cooper welcomed his first child. [24]
Cooper's second cousin Mathew Baynton is also in the acting profession. [25]