interview | cooper van grootel

Cooper van Grootel is an Australia-born Hollywood star in the making. Starting at just 12 years old, van Grootel quickly realised his passion for the craft, landing a variety of roles before his latest work, Peacock’s One Of Us is Lying. A suspenseful and mysterious story based on a novel by Karen M. McManus, van Grootel steps deeply into the multi-layered plot, uncovering the complexity of his character Nate throughout the series. Schön! spoke with van Grootel about his career, what it takes to play bad boy and of course, One Of Us is Lying.

Hello Cooper! Let’s start with a discussion of your decision to become an actor. When and how did you decide to tie up your life with acting?

Hello to you too! I wanna start off by saying, thank you for having me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of this dope magazine. From a young age I was always fascinated by movies and TV. My dad was super into all the Hollywood greats and blockbusters, so I think my passion began there. But it wasn’t until I turned 11 that my curiosity turned into a burning desire to create and act. I found an acting school online called Filmbites Screen Academy in Western Australia — shout out to my wonderful Australian agent, Hallie Mckeig, for creating such an amazing school and learning experience. I will cherish it forever.

You once said you’re inspired by Leonardo Di Caprio, as he has not only accomplished a lot as an actor but used his fame for good causes. Why do you think it’s important for notable people to use their media coverage to make people aware of important issues? How do you do it, or plan to do it, yourself?

This is a great question, and Leo is such a perfect example. I love that he not only is an incredible actor, but he is so concerned for the future of our planet and the environment. It’s incredible to see people using their platforms no matter how big or small to create awareness of certain issues in today’s world, because without that widespread coverage people would remain uninformed. I hope to create awareness for the planet’s future and safety of the environment as it’s key to sustaining a happy and healthy living standard for our kids and their kids.

full look. Salvatore Ferragamo
opposite
jacket. Etro
t-shirt. All Saints

sweater + trousers. Ermenegildo Zegna
sneakers. Converse
rings. Vitaly
opposite
full look. Salvatore Ferragamo

How would you describe your shift from Perth, Australia to Hollywood? What were your thoughts and feelings during this period of massive change, and how are you adapting to a new environment?

The leap from Perth to LA was one that I was certainly excited, curious but also fearful about. Adapting to a new environment is not an easy transition. There’s ups and downs to everything in life, so keeping good company and remaining healthy and happy was key to keeping me on track with my auditioning while out in LA. One thing I will say is that, things truly do take time, don’t expect things to happen rapidly and all at once. Change is over time, and beauty is in the process.

You started your career being 12 years old playing Jayden at The Legend of Gavin Tanner. How was it, starting so young? What challenges did you overcome?

The Legend Of Gavin Tanner! That was certainly a fun and wild project to be a part of. I think at the time, I was really just soaking up how incredible this new passion was shaping out to be. Every project was a chance to grow, learn and be surrounded by other talented and creative individuals. A challenge I overcame was balancing my acting with school; both were equally as important and so navigating that well was crucial to me.

jacket. Song for the Mute
turtleneck. COS
trousers. Iceberg
opposite
sweater + trousers. Ermenegildo Zegna
sneakers. Converse
rings. Vitaly

full look. Salvatore Ferragamo
opposite
jacket. Etro
t-shirt. All Saints

You have played very distinctive roles in your life; one of them is a bad boy Dean in Go Karts. What does it take to play bad boy? And how do you switch from diametrically opposite roles?

This is a great question. I loved playing Dean in Go Karts; there’s something so fun about going against the grain and doing something different. I think in order to tap into a diametrically opposite role, for me, is that you have to find things that sets yourself apart from the character, whether that be physicality, like eye line, stature and gait, all the way to finding contrasting personality traits and reasoning with them in order to make sense of them and convey something truthful. It’s all a blast nonetheless!

What’s the most interesting part of being an actor to you? 

I think the most interesting part about being an actor is getting the chance to be creative and immerse yourself in different characters and stories. Storytelling is such a big part of who we are as humans and so being able to tell stories and give them to the world is so special.

full look. Salvatore Ferragamo

You have played very distinctive roles in your life; one of them is a bad boy Dean in Go Karts. What does it take to play bad boy? And how do you switch from diametrically opposite roles?

This is a great question. I loved playing Dean in Go Karts; there’s something so fun about going against the grain and doing something different. I think in order to tap into a diametrically opposite role, for me, is that you have to find things that sets yourself apart from the character, whether that be physicality, like eye line, stature and gait, all the way to finding contrasting personality traits and reasoning with them in order to make sense of them and convey something truthful. It’s all a blast nonetheless!

What’s the most interesting part of being an actor to you? 

I think the most interesting part about being an actor is getting the chance to be creative and immerse yourself in different characters and stories. Storytelling is such a big part of who we are as humans and so being able to tell stories and give them to the world is so special.

jacket. Song for the Mute
turtleneck. COS
trousers. Iceberg
opposite
full look. Salvatore Ferragamo

sweater. Christian Wijnants
jeans. Levis
sneakers. Converse
opposite
jacket. Song for the Mute
turtleneck. COS
trousers. Iceberg

Let’s talk about your recent work, One of Us Is Lying. What were your thoughts when you first read the script and description of your character Nate? 

I actually hadn’t read the book before getting the audition for Nate, so I was a little skeptical about the “Bad Boy” archetype as I have played those roles in the past. But upon reading Karen M. McManus’s One Of Us Is Lying, I soon realised that she had created a story and characters that completely abolished all the “Stereotypical” personalities we see so much. The characters are so in depth, intriguing and authentic. So, naturally, the Pilot script was much the same as the book, with a few differences in there too. Nate has so much more to him than just a rough exterior, once you start to peel back the layers and uncover the truths about him, we really see how human he truly is.

The plot of the series is complicated and unpredictable, but how was it from the actor’s perspective? How would you describe working on such a project? 

That it is complicated and unpredictable. Which is why it was so great to get stuck into the character and story. It was so cool to be a part of a project with so many twists and turns. I must say, the timelines got confusing sometimes, but the producers on the show were so epic to send a well-planned timeline to the whole of the cast to be certain that on any given day we knew where we were in the story.

sweater. Christian Wijnants
jeans. Levis
sneakers. Converse
opposite
cardigan. All Saints
tank. Calvin Klein
trousers. Greg Lauren

Did you have any special routine preparing for this role? Did you have techniques that helped you fulfil Nate’s role?

My main part of character prep was keeping a journal that I would write down Nate’s thoughts and past experiences as if it were him. Nate is a guy that likes to journal and finds it meditative. Each day I would write down a journal entry in order to assess how he was feeling on the day of shooting. It was crucial to not get too lost in the role, though; I had a strict rule to leave the mindset at work and return to ‘Cooper’ at the end of the day.

What were your favourite scenes to work on and why?

There were so many! I would have to say any scene with the Bayview 4, was always so cool to play around with the group dynamic. Chib, Marianly and Anna were all so down to be creative and it was a joy to be a part of the experience with them. I can’t forget the Bronwyn and Nate scenes, though. One in particular was a scene from the pilot where Nate comes to visit Bronwyn at her home. That day, Marianly, John Scott (Director) and myself had the opportunity to be so free and explorative in that scene and we were stoked with how it turned out!

cardigan. All Saints
tank. Calvin Klein
trousers. Greg Lauren

cardigan. All Saints
tank. Calvin Klein
trousers. Greg Lauren
opposite
jacket. Song for the Mute
turtleneck. COS
trousers. Iceberg

You teamed up with an amazing cast for this project, with an especially great chemistry between you and Bronwyn, played by your co-star Marianly Tejada. How did you manage to create such a natural chemistry on-set? 

We shot the pilot in November of 2019, so we have all known each other for the past 2 years, through a global pandemic. It all sort of brought us closer together, not knowing if the show was going ahead or not. Marianly and I were committed to creating characters that were carved out completely. We would converse about the story and our characters and what it meant to them and each other. This, naturally, brought chemistry between us. We also had several on-set exercises, taught to us by Miranda Harcourt — Miranda was amazing in offering quick and easy techniques to bring us into the scene that would ground us in reality and make both of us present and completely in-tune with one another.

Why should our readers watch One of Us Is Lying? What makes this series special to you?

OOUIL is a story about friendship and bonding together in times where things aren’t going according to plan. We see true transformation of characters that only want to be their truest self, as all human beings do. That’s special. Our characters embrace fear, overcome hurdles, and grow stronger as a result from it, and I think that’s pretty damn cool. 

What can we expect from you in the future?

I don’t like to think about it too much / future trips, but I hope to keep learning and growing as a person and actor. To be a part of projects that bring me joy and that I’m proud of. To create great memories with friends and family.

cardigan. All Saints
tank. Calvin Klein
trousers. Greg Lauren

One of Us Is Lying is currently streaming on Peacock.

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