Young Artist Academy™ Award Winner Christian Michael Cooper from Vancouver, B.C Canada worked in commercials as a toddler and started TV/film at the age of five. The 15-year old actor talks about his favorite projects, and how he strengthens life skills through working in Entertainment. 

I started in the industry when I was a toddler doing some commercials and when I was five years old, asked my parents if I could start auditioning for film and TV. Shortly after, I booked my first recurring guest star role in a series called Cult. I have been busy filming ever since and love it.  

Outside of my acting career, I am very active with soccer, skiing, mountain biking and water sports. 

I think that what I like best about working in Entertainment is getting to meet all the amazing people along the way. Also, getting to bring to life the characters/people that the writers have written is fantastic. I have been fortunate to have been a part of some amazing projects. My first noteworthy one I think would have to be Prison Break. I played the role of Mike Scofield Jr. It was great because I'm all about working on set that has a lot of action and suspense and this was definitely one of them. The cast was amazing to work with and the Prison Break fans are super supportive. Another one that I really loved was working on Supernatural. It was such an amazing set and the cast of kids that I worked with were great. We really connected and the chemistry that was seen on screen was very real. When Calls the Heart I have been on for the last 7 seasons so it is definitely one that I have amazing memories from. The cast kids that I work with, I have worked with for 7 years so we are all pretty close. The fans, called Hearties, are also super supportive. I have many other projects that I could talk about and honestly have never had any bad experiences in this business. I'm very grateful.

I think that I have learned a lot of great skills over the years as an actor that have helped me through my everyday life. Definitely learning how to communicate effectively, problem solving, learning how not to take things personally and perseverance are a few of them. All of these things have helped me, not only on set as an actor but in everyday life with school and with friendships.

I think that I learned through the years that usually when things don't go your way on booking a role, it really doesn't have anything to do with you personally and it can be about so many different things such as hair colour, eye color, age, etc. Perseverance is so important and not letting disappointments stop you from achieving your goals. As the saying goes, "upwards and onwards"!

I think the benefits with the award process is being able to connect with other child and teen actors in the same industry and being able to support each other. YAA has been amazing with the support that has been given to the young artists. Being a nominee and or a winner definitely is a great way to feel rewarded for the hard (but fun) work put into each project. Having a social media presence definitely helps show your projects as well. 

Business Advice: Continue to grow and learn with ongoing acting lessons and or coaching. Also keeping your headshots and demo reels up to date is important. Last but not least, always believe in yourself and keep setting those goals.

Watch for Christian in Season 9 of When Calls the Heart which airs early 2022.

Follow Christian on Twitter @christian_coop1 on IG @cooper.christian.michael

 and Facebook @ChristianMichaelCooper