Netflix Adolescence star Owen Cooper takes swipe at 'just terrible' American icons
Rising star Owen Cooper known for his impressive performance in Netflix's hit show Adolescence has taken a playful swipe at US sweets and chocolates branding them "just terrible" earlier this week.
Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the young actor slated the confectionery and even brought out some US snacks to prove his point. The 15-year-old said: "One thing I hate about America - the chocolate and the sweets, everything is just terrible. It's just Cheetos and all that nonsense. Honestly, I hate it."
Host Jimmy asked the teenager what he disliked about America as Owen spend some time there promoting the Netflix drama, which is in talks for a second series.
After his honesty, Owen lifted the basket of snacks to show Jimmy his favourite sweets, which included Maltesers. Which were first sold in the UK back in 1937, the Mirror reports.
"Have you ever had a Malteser? Right - I'll bring the whole basket up. So this is what I brought [Monster Munch, Maltesers and Fruit Pastilles]",Owen stated during the interview on NBC.
The teen, from Warrington, Cheshire, argued that these brands were so much better than most American sweets. However, the US boasts a long standing history of iconic confectionery, with the market valued at $83.54 billion (£60 billion) in 2024.
In the late 1800's, sweets in the US were handcrafted in small batches and sold in local shops across the country. That changed in 1894 when the Hershey Chocolate Company introduced the world to the first mass-produced milk chocolate bar.
After World War II, confectionery began to be regularly imported to the UK and other countries.
Although Owen's opinion on sweets is mirrored by his fans online, who left messages on social media. One posted: "Maltesers, Minstrels and beef Minichips are the perfect cinema snacks. Heaven. Can't get anything remotely close in the US."
While another, seemingly an American, wrote: "He's absolutely correct. The candy, chips etc over here are atrocious. Garbage compared to Europe's." A third said: "He is spot on actually."
Later in the interview, Owen revealed that some massive Hollywood stars have praised his performance on Adolescence. The rising star said Leonardo DiCaprio left him a video message when he was with his onscreen dad Stephen Graham.
He stated: "Stephen Graham sent me a video yesterday and it's Leonardo DiCaprio sat next to him and he was saying 'Hey Owen, I'm such a big fan of Adolescence.'... I was like 'What!'"
Owen received widespread acclaim for his leading role in the Netflix drama, despite having little prior acting experience before taking the role.
Growing up one of his big interests was music - so much that his mum Noreen, a carer, nicknamed him "my mini Harry Styles."
Neighbours in the Warrington area describe the family as grounded and modest. Owen, who also enjoys playing football for his local youth team, lives with Noreen and his dad Andy, 44, who works in IT as well as his older brother Ollie.
He also has an older half-brother, Connor, who like Ollie works as an electrician.
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