Why Young Heathcliff From Wuthering Heights Looks So Familiar

Director Emerald Fennell has brought us the first genuinely big movie of 2026. Her new adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" will bring the box office to life and is expected to become a huge hit. That's great news for the film's already big stars Margot Robbie ("Barbie") and Jacob Elordi ("Frankenstein"), who will have yet another feather to put in their already impressive caps. But it's also good news for the movie's younger stars, who now have a buzzy title on their small yet growing resumes.

One such star who may look familiar to audiences is the boy who plays the younger version of Heathcliff. Elordi plates the older version of the male lead at the center of this movie's twisted, doomed romance, but for much of the first act, it's Owen Cooper who shows us what Heathcliff was like earlier on in life. His performance lays the groundwork for everything that comes after and is monumentally important. Similarly, Charlotte Mellington portrays the younger version of Robbie's character Cathy alongside Cooper.

/Film's BJ Colangelo called "Wuthering Heights" a "breathtaking twist on a classic" in her review, albeit one that is destined to be polarizing. Polarizing or not, viewers may well have seen Cooper and thought to themselves, "He looks familiar." There's a very good reason for that. Even though Cooper is a young actor who is still only just beginning his career, he's already starred in one of the biggest shows in recent memory in the form of Netflix's "Adolescence."

For those not aware, "Adolescence" is a four-episode miniseries where each episode was shot in one take. It tells the story of the Millers, a family whose world is turned upside down when their 13-year-old son Jamie (Cooper) is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl who attends his school.

"Adolescence" rocketed to the top of Netflix's most-watched charts in early 2025 and was met with widespread critical acclaim. Much of that had to do with Owen Cooper's performance, which left an impression on people.

Jamie Miller was one of the best TV villains of 2025, and that's all thanks to Cooper's performance. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, making him the youngest male actor to win an Emmy ever. He also nabbed a Golden Globe for his work. As such, seeing him pop up in "Wuthering Heights" makes for a welcome surprise, even though he already looks quite a bit older than he did in "Adolescence." Kids grow up fast, after all.

As of right now, Cooper doesn't have many other projects on his acting resume, but he did star in the miniseries "Film Club," as well as the music video for Sam Fender's "Little Bit Closer." Still, while it's certainly possible that some people will recognize him from those projects, it's far more likely that they'll know him thanks to his award-winning, chilling work in one of Netflix's best original series ever.

Next up, Cooper is working on "Cry to Heaven." Tom Ford's first movie as a director since 2016's cruel and dark love story "Nocturnal Animals," the film boasts a star-studded cast that also includes the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson ("The Fall Guy"), Nicholas Hoult ("Superman"), and Hunter Schafer ("Euphoria"), and it should only serve to further boost the young actor's profile. He'll be recognized a lot more in the years to come, that much seems certain.

"Wuthering Heights" is in theaters now.