The Untold Truth Of Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Has anyone gone from just another working actor to bona-fide A-lister (and a good looking one at that) faster than Oliver Jackson-Cohen?
If you do not know the British actor at this point, you certainly will soon. Born in London, England (to prominent fashion designer Betty Jackson), the 34-year-old Jackson-Cohen was passionate about acting from a young age (more on that later). After a stab at modeling and a few years of smaller TV and film roles, he is now seemingly everywhere. He starred as the titular, crazed ex-husband in 2020's slick thriller The Invisible Man alongside Elizabeth Moss, and he stirred up an even bigger fan base as Peter Quint in Netflix's spooky and massively popular haunted house tale The Haunting of Bly Manor, alongside Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino, and more. And Jackson-Cohen is no stranger to frights, previously playing the quiet, addiction-battling Luke Crain in 2018's The Haunting of Hill House, also directed by horror ace Mike Flanagan. With a handful of major, yet nuanced and dark, film roles under his belt, the star is definitely someone you should study up on ASAP.
"I'd been so manic," Jackson-Cohen told Entertainment Weekly regarding his jam-packed schedule. Yup, the handsome, 6-foot-3 Brit signed on to two more films in 2021, per IMDb, and after that, as he added to EW, "I have no idea." Well, while we wait to find out, here is everything you probably did not know about Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
Oliver Jackson-Cohen was inspired to get into acting by this family film
Oliver Jackson-Cohen may be a Netflix king, but the first role he really wanted will surprise you. In fact, it might make you put your hands on your cheeks and scream! Growing up, Jackson-Cohen caught the acting bug when he saw Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone. "I remember going to the cinema to watch it and genuinely thinking, genuinely having the realization that kids could be actors," Jackson-Cohen told Collider. "I hadn't really ever thought it through ... so I left the movie theater and my dad said they're making a second one."
The Hill House star decided wholeheartedly that he "was going to be the kid in Home Alone 2." He told the outlet, "My parents had this house with like a window that gave out onto the street. And I thought I know what I'll do, I'll sit on the end of dining room table up against the window and someone from Hollywood will drive by and go 'there's a kid, that's the one that we need!'" Aw!
Although that strategy did not land him the role, Jackson-Cohen did discover his passion for acting. He landed his first TV role in 2007, per IMDb, on the mini-series The Time of Your Life, and in 2008 on UK's Lark Rise to Candleford. Then a big(ish) break came across the pond, though there were complications...
Drew Barrymore saved Oliver Jackson-Cohen's first movie role
Oliver Jackson-Cohen's first major studio role would have been as invisible as his Invisible Man character, if not for Drew Barrymore! The actor (again, London-born) did not have a work visa upon nabbing his first major film role, which was as Barrymore's pal in the 2010 rom-com Going the Distance. Obviously, starring alongside Barrymore, as well as Justin Long, was a huge deal for Jackson-Cohen at the time. And Barrymore stepped in to ensure it would happen.
"I didn't have a Visa and so Warner Bros. had to get me this Visa and I got denied because I'd only done one job in the UK before," the star told Collider in October 2020. "And so Drew wrote a letter. I'd never met her, but she wrote a letter to the immigration Visa people. So I felt like... I already owed this person my life!" He continued, "There was a whole point where it's like, 'Well, you're not gonna be able to do the movie..." Luckily, things worked out, and Jackson-Cohen has Barrymore to thank for his first major film! "[Drew] was so wonderful to work with, and so supportive," he added. "She's really quite special... she just exudes kindness."
That said, getting cast in a huge blockbuster was a double-edged sword. "Luke [Crain, from Hill House] was the first character [where] I didn't have to be the guy from Going the Distance," he told Entertainment Weekly. "It was quite freeing.″
Oliver Jackson-Cohen is dating someone familiar
Is Oliver Jackson-Cohen single? Sorry, folks, but that's a no. He is dating actress Jessica De Gouw, whom he has been seeing since 2013. According to The Sun, the power couple met on the set of NBC's Dracula, which they both starred in, and have been together ever since!
Australian actress De Gouw has also appeared as The Huntress on the series Arrow, as Lucy-Lindsay Hogg in The Crown, and in the BBC drama The Secret She Keeps, so she is definitely quite busy herself. Though the couple keeps relatively quiet, in 2018, for Jackson-Cohen's birthday, she posted an Instagram photo of the duo looking cozy as anything, with the caption, "I thank my lucky stars for you." How sweet! She made the grid over on Jackson-Cohen's Instagram in 2015, too, in another adorable photo. We are only slightly disappointed he is not single.
Meanwhile, in keeping with his close-to-the-vest relationship style, Jackson-Cohen kept a low profile for much of 2020 while quarantining in his London home. He told InStyle in October 2020 he has taken a turn at baking and woodworking, not unlike the great Nick Offerman. "It turns out I'm actually really into manual stuff so I made a dining table," he told the outlet. "I've just gotten into, like, sanding."
Oliver Jackson-Cohen has an emotionally sensitive side
Although it took a few years, more layered roles, like Luke Crain on Hill House and the titular Invisible Man, really turned Oliver Jackson-Cohen into a star. "I love exploring those [darker] sides, and bizarrely, it's where I feel more comfortable," he told InStyle. "Which is why I think I struggled so much at the beginning of my career, because I was being asked to be pretty, and that was it." That said, it seems the actor could also have a turn at rom-coms someday, as he is seemingly quite in touch with his emotional side.
"I am very sensitive, and I always have been — I'm aware that I am a man, and I am supposed to be non-emotional, and I've battled that my whole life, but I feel so much that it's ... I don't know," the star added when he spoke to InStyle. "... I'm six foot three, I'm a big man, and I think it's quite rare to have someone that cries so much when they are my size." Okay, can't you just feel the raw emotion?
The internet was quick to fuss over that one and we cannot blame them. Oliver Jackson-Cohen is a stellar (and handsome) cinematic force who is skyrocketing in fame!