The multidisciplined creative has had an interesting career path so far.
In his early 20’s he went from working in retail to becoming a model, then to co-writing and starring in the hit BBC mockumentary, This Country, alongside his sister and fellow talent, Daisy May Cooper. The show which followed two cousins living in a small village in the Cotswolds became a a staple of modern British comedy culture thanks to it’s reltable and amusing depiction of rural life, and social isolation.
Although he may think he “was never meant to act”, acting and writing has always been in his life. In his childhood, Charlie and Daisy would create films using their mother’s camcorder. Fast forward to now and he’s proven to have some serious acting chops, thanks to appearances in Inside Number Nine and 2022 film See How They Run alongside the likes of Harris Dickinson, Adrien Brody, and Saoirse Ronan. The BAFTA-award winning creative has also written for the cult music tv show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
In his latest role, he turn his hand to presenting for the BBC Three Series Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country. The three-part factual series sees Charlie tour the UK in his campervan, investigating the mysterious folklore and tales that have become legend. From crop circles and UFOs in Wiltshire to roaming phantom dogs on the coast and countryside of East Anglia, Charlie meets the believers and the naysayers, visiting iconic locations and gathering evidence in a bid to get to the bottom of the truth.
To celebrate the launch of Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country, Charlie sits down with 1883 Magazine’s Cameron Poole to discuss the show, his acting career, his time as a model, campervans, and more.
Hi Charlie – thanks for speaking with 1883 Magazine, your new series Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country is out now. As you’ve always been fascinated by local legends, myths, and folklore, could you please tell me about what myths and folklore you grew up on and what inspired this interest?
Great question, it’s weird, writing This Country gave us a proper opportunity to dive into our local folklore and legend, as we were literally looking for ideas for episodes. I grew up with very strange, yearly traditions such as the cheese rolling, which was done a couple of miles from my house [laughs]. People would fling themselves down a hill after a wheel of cheese, no idea why, but it has been going on for years and it is getting more popular, weirdly, which is amazing. So it’s things like that I love, really weird, eccentric, British stuff that you don’t really get anywhere else in the world. And of course, things like King Arthur which I think we all grew up with, you couldn’t avoid it, it is in popular culture, films, TV. So folklore is one of these subjects which is all around us. I think we know more about it than we think we do.
The folklore between mates or stories from the town you grew up in just get fabricated, do you know what I mean? I’ve just had an interest in different elements of folklore I suppose.
Whether you’re investigating the tale of Black Shuck in episode one or the other tales you look at in the series, what went through your mind when you met the people who claim to have had encounters with these mythical characters – are you a person who wants to believe wholeheartedly or are you at all sceptical even a little bit?
I was probably more sceptical before, doing the show has actually made me believe more having met these people. I don’t dislike the two guys I met in the Black Shuck episode, I certainly don’t discount the stories they told. They saw something. Whether it was Black Shuck or not, who knows but they definitely saw something. And I think that mystery is so important in our lives. We’ve got the answers to everything these days, all you have to do is get your phone out of your pocket and Google stuff. It’s just so nice having a bit of mystery in the world if that makes sense. That sense of wonder, it makes things a little bit more exciting.
I’ve always been fascinated with paranormal things and anything sort of out of the ordinary, I just think we could all be a little bit more open-minded, I guess, why the fuck not [laughs].
Sure, I’m pretty sceptical about things but on the other hand, who are we to judge, we can’t discount when people tell us about their apparent experiences.
Yeah!
Just to pivot away from the show quickly, co-creating and starring in This Country with your sister was a significant milestone in your career and has become a staple in British comedy. Reflecting on the impact of the show, how do you think it has shaped you as both a writer and actor as you take on new and different roles?
That’s really nice. I think because it was our first project and it was a hit, it was just the most incredible experience, especially doing it with family. We’ve got each other to back us up and it was just so lovely. We’ll always have it and it just means you can sort of relax a little bit, you’ve done the thing you’ve always wanted to do. That show was 20 years in the making, it was never an overnight thing. It took a long time to get it made, lots of ups and downs. It just takes the pressure off and means I can pursue other projects I am really passionate about, like this show.
I don’t know, people have been so nice about it, I don’t live in London but I’m in London today and even walking down the street you’ll get people stop you and say how much they love it. People are excited to see you and that is quite an extraordinary thing. I think that is the power of comedy, if you make someone laugh, they really appreciate it which is so nice. Me and Daisy are both comedy nerds, really, inspired by so many great British shows and if this has a chance of being one of those then that is the best possible feeling as we didn’t think it would happen.
I want to point out that you’ve got some serious acting chops, and I feel the public can sometimes typecast actors with a certain genre, but your performance in Inside No. Nine’s Boo To A Goose, was brilliant, and I enjoyed your appearance in See How They Run. You’re proving yourself to be fare more than just a comedic actor. As an actor, what roles are you more hungry for now?
Ah, that is nice, thank you. It’s weird; I was never really meant to be acting in This Country, that came so late on, and Daisy went to drama school, she did the acting classes. I was writing it with her, but she was the one who said you’ve got to be in this. I was sort of the only one who could do the accent, they couldn’t find anyone who could nail it. So she said I have to be the male lead in it which was brilliant but fucking terrifying as I had never done anything like that before. I had so much support doing it, the director was brilliant.
The last five years since This Country ended has really been a case of working out what sort of career I want, what I wan to do, and it has been so nice doing other things. I’m taking each role as it comes. I loved doing Inside Number Nine purely because it is one of my favourite shows ever. It was an honour to be asked but again it was fucking terrifying. You think: ‘I really hope I don’t fuck this up’. But Reece [Shearsmith] and Steve [Pemberton] are so lovely.
So yeah, I think I am moving more into it all… I was a bit cautious about doing other acting roles but I’m not so much anymore, I feel like I am finding my feet. There is a really good comedy circuit in the UK at the moment. So many amazing writers and some really great shows are being made. I just feel lucky to be in this world really because if not, I don’t know what I would be doing. Probably still working in Argos or something like that [laughs].
It’s lovely to see that things are working out for you, and we’ve all had stints in retail, I can relate to that. But we also can’t shy away from the fact you worked in the modelling industry as well; you’ve had a very varied and interesting career path.
Yeah, actually that was so useful because that was at a point when I was just writing and the idea of being up in a room talking in front of people would have been pretty daunting. But it gave me so much confidence, just standing there and having people look at you… It was the perfect preparation for acting which is the next level up. I wasn’t a particularly good model but I did enjoy it, made lots of good friends from it, because there isn’t many male models who choose to do it. We all got street-cast or whatever, it’s a total bonkers industry but there are some really good people in there.
I think people have quite a negative view on the fashion industry from the outside but I think it is changing for the better. It was really useful for my career at the perfect time basically.
In the new show, you tour about in an old converted AA van, is it something you’ve owned for long? Tell me about it…
We would always go on camping holidays as kids but only ever in tents and I think when I could afford to, I just really wanted a campervan. I’ve only had this model for a year but I had one exactly the same before and I got that straight after Covid. I think we all felt pretty claustrophobic and cooped up, so it was a chance to get out and explore Britain. I went everywhere in it and I think it was also an inspiration for this series because there is so much on our doorstep, when you realise you can’t go abroad, you realise every region has its folktales, legends, and amazing characters. So it felt like the perfect thing.
I have two young kids now, I’ve tried to take them camping but the last time we went a few weeks ago it was an absolute nightmare [laughs]. One of them projectile vomited in the campervan on the first night. So maybe I’ll have to leave it for a few more years. But it is great because it gets you outside and I love it, it is the best thing. Do you have a campervan or anything?
I don’t myself but it’s always really cool when people do them up and take them about the place. Like you said, there is so much to explore in the UK and I don’t think we fully realise that. So maybe one day when I’ve got the money I may look into it.
Yeah, the model I have is a T4 which is like 20-years-old but they’re becoming really affordable now, I think straight after the pandemic the prices rocketed, but there are a few knocking about on Facebook marketplace, if you do get a few spare quid.
I have to ask but this is a bit crude, was that a bit for the show, or do you genuinely think it was a dogger who knocked on your car door when you were camping out looking for Black Shuck?
I think it genuinely happened. I think it was a dogger, I think. Or it was someone coming to tell me off for being there. Each episode I did do a genuine campout which I love doing. Yeah, to this day, I’m not quite sure. It was fucking terrifying and it shows you that despite being on the hunt for an evil phantom black dog [Black Shuck], it is actually humans who are more terrifying than any phantom beast. Lesson learned, don’t go into a dogging hotspot.
Finally, what’s the biggest or best piece of advice you’ve been given in your career so far that has really served you so far throughout your career so far?
It is a bit of a cliche but being told to follow your gut is the biggest thing. Whenever me or Daisy hasn’t listened to our intuition that has been when we have made mistakes. I think we did a lot of that when This Country was starting out. We were with a different production company and I don’t think they quite got it, but compromised on so much stuff and we knew we were doing it, but we felt like ‘ah, these people know more than us’ but in the end they didn’t. So it’s advice like, follow your own voice, your own heart, that is so important. If something feels wrong it probably means it is wrong.
It was great to chat Charlie, thanks for taking the time to have this phone call.
Anytime, I appreciate it, thank you, Cameron.
Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country will air tonight October 4th at 9pm on BBC Three and iPlayer.
Follow Charlie @charlie11cooper
Interview Cameron Poole
