Early life

Cooper was born and brought up in Greenwich, London, the son of Julie (née Heron), a nursery school teacher, and Brian Cooper, an auctioneer. His maternal great-grandfather was film enthusiast E. T. Heron, who published The Kinematograph Weekly. He attended the Thomas Tallis School in Kidbrooke, London, and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), graduating in 2000. He also attended John Ball Primary School.

Career

He first worked in television and film before making his stage debut in Mother Clap's Molly House at the National Theatre in 2001. Cooper was involved in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys from its first reading. He also toured with the production to Broadway, Sydney, Wellington and Hong Kong as well as appearing in the radio and film adaptations of the play. He has had notable roles in the Royal National Theatre's adaptation of the His Dark Materials trilogy where he played the lead character Will Parry, the TV series Down To Earth and Sense & Sensibility.

In 2008, he appeared as Sky in Mamma Mia!, in which he sang several songs. The same year, he appeared opposite Keira Knightley in The Duchess as Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey. Cooper starred in films An Education and Freefall in 2009, and also played Hippolytus in Phedre at the National Theatre alongside Helen Mirren and Margaret Tyzack.

In 2010, he played rock-drummer Ben in the film Tamara Drewe, and in 2011 played the leading roles of Latif Yahia and Uday Hussein in the biographical film The Devil's Double and portrayed Milton H. Greene in My Week with Marilyn. 2011 was also the year Cooper first appeared as Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Initially appearing in the film Captain America: The First Avenger, he reprised his role in the Marvel One-Shot Agent Carter two years later, and in the television series of the same name in 2015 and 2016.

In 2012 he appeared as vampire Henry Sturges in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and in 2014, he portrayed the main antagonist in two films: Dino Brewster in Need for Speed and Mehmed in Dracula Untold. Cooper depicted James Bond author Ian Fleming in the television mini-series Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond in 2014. The next year, Cooper appeared in two films, Miss You Already and The Lady in the Van.

Cooper plays Jesse Custer, the lead role in AMC's Preacher; the programme debuted in May 2016. Cooper is part of the cast of the Warcraft film adaptation, set to be released in June 2016.

Recognition and awards

Cooper was nominated for a 2006 Drama Desk Award for his work on the Broadway production of The History Boys.

He was nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer (On Screen) award at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards and has been nominated for the British Film Critics' Circle's 2006 award for British actor in support for his work on the film version of The History Boys.

Personal life

Cooper shared a house, for a time, with his co-star in The History Boys, James Corden, until Corden started a family with his wife.

Cooper is dating actress Ruth Negga, with whom he stars in Preacher.

In August 2014, Cooper was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	From Hell	Constable
	Anazapta	Clerk
2002	The Gentleman Thief	PC Merrifield
	The Final Curtain	Young Priest
2003	Boudica
	I'll Be There	Boyfriend
2005	Breakfast on Pluto	Squaddie at disco
2006	Starter for 10	Spencer	Nominated - Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer
	The History Boys	Dakin	Nominated - Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer Nominated - British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer Nominated - ALFS Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year
2008	The Duchess	Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
	Mamma Mia!	Sky
	The Escapist	Lacey
2009	Brief Interviews with Hideous Men	Daniel / Subject 46
	Freefall	Dave Matthews
	An Education	Danny	Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2010	Tamara Drewe	Ben
2011	A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures	Sammy	Voice
	Captain America: The First Avenger	Howard Stark
	The Devil's Double	Latif Yahia / Uday Hussein	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actor
	My Week with Marilyn	Milton Greene	Capri Ensemble Cast Award
2012	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter	Henry Sturges
2013	Dead Man Down	Darcy
	Summer in February	AJ Munnings
	Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter	Howard Stark	Short film
2014	Reasonable Doubt	Mitch Brockden
	Need for Speed	Dino Brewster
	Dracula Untold	Mehmed the Second
2015	Miss You Already	Kit
	The Lady in the Van	Theatre Actor
2016	Warcraft	King Llane	Post-production
	Stratton: First Into Action	John Stratton	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells	Sidney Davidson	Episode: "Davidson's Eyes"
2001	Band of Brothers	Allington	Episode: "Currahee"
2003	Sparkling Cyanide	Andy Hoffman	Television film
2004	Down To Earth	Danny Wood	Episode: "First Love"
2008	Sense and Sensibility	Mr. Willoughby	3 episodes
2008	God on Trial	Moche	Television film
2014	Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond	Ian Fleming	4 episodes
2015-16	Agent Carter	Howard Stark	5 episodes
2016	Preacher	Jesse Custer

Radio

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	The All-Colour Vegetarian Cookbook	Damien
2006	The History Boys	Dakin

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Mother Clap's Molly House	Thomas / Josh	Lyttelton Theatre Royal National Theatre
2002	Caryl Churchill Events		Royal Court Theatre
2002	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Puck	Royal Shakespeare Company
2003	Call to Prayer		Operating Theatre Company
2003-04	His Dark Materials	Will	Olivier Theatre Royal National Theatre
2004	The History Boys	Dakin	Lyttelton Theatre Royal National Theatre
2006	The History Boys	Dakin	Broadhurst Theatre Sydney Theatre St James Lyric Theatre Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
2009	Phèdre	Hippolytus	Royal National Theatre Shakespeare Theatre Company

[ Source: Wikipedia ]