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Michael Cooper Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in movies such as the horror thriller, The Inhabitant, and the teen drama, On the Come Up. He is from Dallas, Texas, and comes from a family of healthcare workers.
Cooper Jr. is currently portraying Justin Edwards, a sensitive teenage boy who falls in love with the determined track star Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone), in the Netflix series Forever.
Created by Mara Brock Akil, the show is a modern reimagining of Judy Blume's 1975 novel Forever... which explores teenage s*xuality. Michael Cooper Jr.'s role as Justin in this series marks his first role as the lead actor.
Everything to know about Forever star Michael Cooper Jr.
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Michael Cooper Jr. did not grow up dreaming of becoming an actor. In fact, he was an athlete as a teenager, focused on football. He wanted to study law and politics in college and graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in political science in 2024.
Cooper Jr. developed an interest in acting after he started doing it as an extracurricular activity in high school. In an interview with WWD published on May 9, 2025, he said:
"I grew up mainly playing sports, and I dabbled in theater in church."
At the age of 9, Michael Cooper Jr. played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a church play. During the sophomore year of high school, a teammate suggested that he audition for the musical. Inspired by a musical castmate who had been doing professional acting for several years by then, Cooper Jr. decided to give it a shot.
He graduated from high school a semester early and signed with an agent in January 2020 before moving to Atlanta, Georgia. He began doing short film projects and commercials. In the interview with WWD, Michael Cooper Jr. reflected on how determined he was to make a career in entertainment. He said:
"Everybody’s like, 'it’s difficult.' It’s hard and it is difficult, but I have this thing where when I get tunnel vision, I get kind of obsessive. And so I was learning everything, staying up late, learning how to break down scripts, character analysis. I was doing all this work behind the scenes."
Michael Cooper Jr. revealed why he was interested in playing Justin in Forever
Forever is set in 2018-2019 Los Angeles. Together, Justin and Keisha navigate their final year of high school while dealing with all kinds of emotions. As the two try to grow separately, they realize how deep their love is and how it will change their lives forever.
In an interview with Huffpost published on May 8, 2025, Michael Cooper Jr. reflected on his reasoning behind taking up the role of Justin. He noted that the teenager was a strange guy in the best way.
"Most of the time, you see male leads as calm, cool, collected, not with a lot of inner life happening. But that’s not Justin. Justin has ADHD. He struggles with a speech impediment. He has to have an executive functioning tutor … I’ve never seen anybody like him," Cooper Jr. said.
In the interview, the actor also revealed that he struggles with ADHD, although it is not as severe as his character Justin's.
Forever is available to stream on Netflix.
