Cooper Koch — things you didn't know about the actor

Cooper Koch is a hot new talent in the acting world and star of the Netflix crime series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

The second installment of the Monster biographical crime anthology series tells the real-life story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, American brothers who killed their parents back in August 1989.

Cooper, or Coop as he's known to his mates, plays the lead role of Erik, who alongside his sibling was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. His co-star Nicholas Chavez plays Lyle Menendez. 

The star has wowed audiences with his chilling portrayal of a killer, but what else is there to know about Cooper?

Here are some interesting facts for you...

Cooper Koch hails from a family of producers

Cooper Koch was born on July 16, 1996 in Woodland Hills, Calabasas, located in Los Angeles Country in California.

He has a twin brother called Payton Koch, who's an Emmy-award nominated picture editor, whose credits include the popular television series' American Horror Story and Ratched.

Payton isn't the only famous member of Cooper's family. His great-grandfather, Howard W. Koch, produced the 1980 film Airplane, and his grandfather Hawk Koch was the producer of the 1992 movie Wayne’s World.

Hawk is also the former President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild. Impressive!

He's worked as a model

Before he got into acting, handsome Cooper worked as a model for a short while. And he's still a natural in front of the lens.

He made his first film at the age of 11 in the 2007 film, Fracture.

A break of almost a decade followed, and Cooper was next seen on screens in Mine, before going on to make his TV debut in the 2018 series, West 40s.

He's openly gay

Both Cooper and his twin brother Payton are openly gay, but there was a time when Cooper had doubts over being 'out'.

The actor discussed the initial fears he had around being a gay actor in the public eye, telling Edge Media Network: “I remember when I was in college, I really didn’t wanna come out. I was really afraid to be an actor and be gay just because I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously or I wouldn’t get cast, or I would be shunned or it just wouldn’t work.

“And I sort of learned through being in acting school that, you know, if I can’t be myself, then I’m not gonna be able to play anyone else regardless of what they identify in terms of their sexuality or their gender or whatever.”

Wise words, Cooper!

He's an advocate of Independent Films

Cooper has worked on a range of acting projects, but feels particularly drawn to independent films. 

Discussing their appeal in an interview Pop Culturalist, the actor said: "It's my favourite, I love working on a smaller scale just because you get to know the people around you well. I would much rather be sitting in the truck that we're filming in rather than going back to my trailer and being alone."

He added: "I also think collaboration is more accessible when you're on a smaller scale. It's just something about the intimacy of working with a rag-tag team of 20 filmmakers. It's more appealing to me, it's more fun."

He's loves a scary movie

Not only is Cooper is a fan of fright-fests, he's also starred in a couple.

In 2022, he made two slasher movies - They/Them and Swallowed. The former follows a group of LGBTQ people who go on a camping trip, which very quickly turns into a holiday from literal hell.

And Swallowed is a queer horror flick which tells the story of two friends who smuggle an illegal substance and the gruesome events that follow.

Cooper first fell in love with the genre when he watched American Horror Story: Asylum, which he says is his all-time favorite. 

He's a passionate LGBTQ+ campaigner

As an out and proud gay man, Cooper is committed to normalizing the rights of people from the LGBTQ+ community.

Speaking to Where is The Buzz on the red carpet of his movie They/Them (in which Cooper played a gay character) in 2022, he said: "It's incredibly important, it's vital. And it's dangerous not to (normalize it). There are states in our country (USA) where conversion therapy is still legal. And that brings tears to my eyes. It's so scary and dangerous to be telling people and forcing people not to be who they truly are."

He kept himself busy during the Covid pandemic

When the global Covid pandemic hit in 2020, Cooper was in New York, having just wrapped on the romcom, New York Christmas Wedding.

Cooper stayed on in the Big Apple, and like everyone else had to isolate. But he found a few ways to pass the time.

In a chat with iHollywood TV at the time he shared: "I am trying to stay as busy as I can. I am teaching yoga, I'm just working on my craft, taking acting classes and doing everything I can to not slip into a lazy hibernation."

Cooper Koch fact file

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We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.