Michael Cooper Jr (born March 5, 2002) is an American actor. He has a co-leading role in 2025 Netflix series adaptation of

Judy Blume Judith Blume (née Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children's, young adult, and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 26 novels. Among her best-known works are '' Are You There God? It's ...

novel ''

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...

''.

Early life

He was born and raised in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas and started acting in church plays before getting a part in his school musical, a production of ''High School Musical'', as a sophomore. He studied political science at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

and

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

and graduated from Texas Tech in 2024.

Career

He had early roles in the 2022 horror movie '' The Inhabitant'' in which he appeared with

Leslie Bibb Leslie Louise Bibb (born November 17, 1973) is an American actress and model. Bibb began her career with minor roles in television, including the crime drama series '' The Big Easy'' (1997). For her role as Brooke McQueen on the WB Network teen ...

, and the Paramount+ film adaptation of '' On the Come Up'', based on the book of the same name by author

Angie Thomas Angie Thomas (born September 20, 1988) is an American young adult author, best known for writing '' The Hate U Give'' (2017). Her second young adult novel, '' On the Come Up'', was released on February 25, 2019. Early life Angie Thomas was born ...

. He was cast in a lead role alongside Lovie Simone as Justin Edwards in 2025 the romantic drama television series '' Forever'', an adaptation for

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

of the novel of the same name by

reimagined by producer and screenwriter Mara Brock Akil into the 21st Century

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He first auditioned for the role in 2023. His mother was a fan of the book, and he read it after being cast in the series. He described his character as having "one foot in confidence and the other foot in insecurity" and that he thought "there was something so palpable and raw about that. I think it's important because I've never seen a haracter likeJustin on screen before. It's important for young boys to really see someone who's able to communicate in that way". He also felt the depiction of a character with ADHD as being important. The series was released on May 8, 2025.

Partial filmography

References

External links

* American television actors American film actors Texas Tech University alumni Living people Male actors from Dallas Date of birth unknown 21st-century American actors 21st-century African-American actors {{US-screen-actor-2000s-stub