Dominic Cooper Biography

Dominic Edward Cooper was born on 2 June 1978, in Greenwich, London, England. His mother, Julie (née Heron), was a nursery school teacher, and his father, Brian Cooper, was an auctioneer. The film enthusiast E. T. Heron was his maternal great-grandfather.

He has two brothers, Simon and Nathan. He also had one sister who died before he was born. His parents divorced when he was five. He has one half-brother and one half-sister from his father’s side.

He went to John Ball Primary School in Blackheath, London, for a few years before enrolling at Thomas Tallis School in nearby Kidbrooke. As a school student, he was very confused about his future. His girlfriend at the time suggested that he join drama school.

He was accepted into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), where he trained in acting and film editing. He appeared in the end-of-year play Waiting for Godot and impressed prominent agent Pippa Markham with his performance. He graduated in 2000.

Dominic Cooper started his career with a few minor roles in TV series and low-budget films. In 2001, he made his stage debut in the play Mother Clap's Molly House at the Royal National Theater.

He was involved in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys from the very beginning and originated the character of Dakin from its first reading. The play premiered in 2004. The actor also toured with the production and travelled to Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. He also appeared in the radio and film adaptations of the play.

He played the lead character Will Parry in the Royal National Theater's adaptation of the His Dark Materials trilogy. In the ensuing years, he also appeared in the TV series Down To Earth and Sense & Sensibility.

He appeared as Sky in the film Mamma Mia! in 2008. He also sang several songs in the movie. He appeared opposite Keira Knightley in the film The Duchess the same year. The following year, he starred in the films An Education and Freefall and the play Phèdre.

Dominic Cooper portrayed rock drummer Ben in the film Tamara Drewe in 2010. Next year, he played the leading roles of Latif Yahia and Uday Hussein in the biographical film The Devil's Double. The film was criticized for whitewashing. In 2011, he also appeared as Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He played vampire Henry Sturges in the supernatural horror action film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter in 2012. He was selected to replace Clive Owen in the financial thriller Cities but the project was cancelled after production delays.

He took up the challenge of portraying the main antagonist in two films, Need for Speed and Dracula Untold, in 2014. He played James Bond author Ian Fleming in the TV miniseries Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond the same year.

In 2015, he acted in two films: romantic comedy-drama Miss You Already and comedy-drama The Lady in the Van. The latter film was directed by Nicholas Hytner, who had previously directed Cooper in the stage adaption of His Dark Materials.

Dominic Cooper began portraying Jesse Custer, the lead character in AMC's TV series Preacher in 2016. The same year, he co-starred in the film adaptation of Warcraft. The film was a commercial hit despite receiving generally negative reviews from critics.

He reprised his role of Sky in the film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in 2018. He played lead role in the AMC+ miniseries ‘Spy City’ in 2020 and is playing the lead role in the TV series ‘That Dirty Black Bag’ which started airing in March 2022.

Dominic Cooper’s role as Stuart Dakin in the comedy-drama film The History Boys is one of his best performances. The movie was adapted by playwright and screenwriter Alan Bennett from his play of the same name. Cooper was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer.

He was much appreciated for playing Ian Fleming in the miniseries Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond. It was a somewhat fictionalized biography focusing on the author’s romantic life and his espionage for the Royal Navy.

Dominic Cooper is good friends with actor James Corden, his co-star in The History Boys. He was the one who introduced Corden to his future wife, Julia and is the godfather of their first child, Max.

Dominic Cooper dated actress Amanda Seyfried for some time in 2008-09. He was in a relationship with actress Ruth Negga from 2010 to 2016. He is currently in a relationship with actress Gemma Chan, whom he started dating in 2018.