Jake Gyllenhaal left Owen Cooper speechless as he surprised the teenager ahead of the 2025 Emmy Awards.
Adolescence star Owen, 15, made history at the Emmys by becoming the youngest actor to win Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series.
The youngster’s first-ever acting role was playing 13-year-old Jamie Miller in Stephen Graham’s drama, and it has propelled him straight into Hollywood.
He has made no secret of the fact that Donnie Darko star Jake, 44, is his idol, and said his dream at the Emmys was to meet the actor.
And Jake sweetly made sure Owen’s dream came true as he surprised the teenager backstage before the Emmys.
A video shared to Instagram showed Jake sneaking up behind Owen right as he was being asked about what he’d do if he met Jake.
“I don’t know,” Owen replied. “I’d probably just stare at him, I don’t really know.”
Owen then turned around and spotted Jake, putting his hands to his mouth in shock as Jake gave him a hug.
In the tear-jerking moment, Jake then handed Owen a present – a “lucky duck”.
Jake revealed his own friend had given him a small duck statue to keep in his pocket when he was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain.
Jake then joked: “I just came by because [Owen’s] been talking about me too much, so I just figured I’d stop it!”
Owen has frequently said in interviews that he wanted to meet and work with Jake, sharing his hopes to “chew” his idol’s ear off at the Emmys on Jimmy Kimmel.
And Jake’s good luck charm certainly paid off as Owen went on to take home the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2025 Emmys.
The Warrington native beat off competition from the likes of Ashley Walters, Javier Bardem, Bill Camp, Rob Delaney, and Peter Sarsgaard.
Owen was completely overwhelmed by his victory and made an emotional speech on stage at the Peacock Theater in LA.
“Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple of years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind here,” he gushed.
“But I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out of your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.”
“I was nothing about three years ago, and I’m here now,” he added.
Owen is the youngest ever male actor to win an Emmy, while the overall youngest ever Emmy winner is Roxana Zal, who won in 1984 at the age of 14.
Adolescence cleaned up at the Emmys and also won Best Limited Series, Best Directing, and Best Writing.
Stephen Graham, who played Owen’s on-screen father, also won Best Actor in a Limited Series, and Erin Doherty won in the Best Supporting Actress category.
