Michael Cooper Jr. stars as tender-hearted teen Justin Edwards in "Forever," Mara Brock Akil's modern reimagining of Judy Blume's beloved novel.

Michael Cooper Jr. has an innocence about him, the kind of unguarded charm that feels rare these days.

Perhaps that comes from playing an awkward teenager stumbling through first love in Forever, Netflix’s adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved 1975 novel. Or maybe it stems from being a fresh face in Hollywood, stepping into his first leading role on television after only a couple of years of acting.

Whatever the reason, it suits him.

Sitting in front of me on Zoom less than two weeks before his show’s premiere, the 23-year-old radiates a humble warmth that suggests fame hasn’t upended his life yet — even after I tell him about the flurry of Forever fan edits and gifs already circulating on social media (which he stays off of), created by viewers eager to see young Black love back on their screens.

Though Cooper is on the verge of a career breakthrough, the rising star isn’t letting his debut as a leading man go to his head. It’s refreshing to see.

Forever marks Michael Cooper Jr.'s first time leading his own TV series. He booked the role of Justin just before the 2023 Hollywood strikes.

You may recognise Cooper from Sanaa Lathan’s 2022 directorial debut On The Come Up or even the quietly released horror movie The Inhabitant, where he starred alongside The White Lotus star Leslie Bibb. But Forever marks the young actor’s true arrival, as he steps into the role of Justin Edwards, the tender-hearted teen who falls hard for his childhood friend, Keisha Clark (played by the effervescent Lovie Simone).

In this modern reimagining, brought to life by brilliant writer and TV creator Mara Brock Akil, we follow the soul-stirring romance of Justin and Keisha in 2018-2019 Los Angeles, during their final years of high school. Their epic story unfolds over the whirlwind of emotions that come with experiencing those capital-F firsts together — insecurities, anxiety, confusion, embarrassment.

But as the two try to branch out on their own, they realise just how deep their love runs. And how it’ll change their lives forever.

Michael Cooper Jr. as Justin Edwards and Lovie Simone as Keisha Clark in a scene from "Forever."

Cooper was particularly drawn to Forever, in part, because Justin represented an emotionally complex character he had never encountered before, especially not a man.

He says: “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.”

“He’s a strange guy,” Cooper adds. “And that’s a lot of the lines throughout the show. People are like, ‘You’re a strange cat, or you’re otherworldly. You’re a weird dude.’ Because he is weird, man, he’s weird in the best way.”

Cooper credits Brock Akil for turning Justin into a multi-dimensional character who’s “a bit more submissive” than his fiery, track star love interest. He says reading Blume’s book (after he booked the role) also helped inform that approach: “Just understanding what Mara wanted to do to use Justin and make sure that he reflects ‘the girl’, and Keisha was ‘the guy’.”

The actor also took time to research before filming, since certain aspects of Justin’s background — like attending private school or being one of the few Black students at a predominantly white institution — didn’t align with his own lived experience.

“He’s so different than me,” Cooper shares. “I always say I’m a little bit more like Keisha. She knows where she wants to go, and she seems to be a little bit more in control. Justin is kind of all over the place.”

Other aspects felt more relatable, like experiencing heartbreak — “my ex-girlfriend, we split around that time [of filming], and I was able to use some of the life lessons and the pain” — and Justin’s struggles with ADHD — “I don’t have it as extreme as he does, but when I have tunnel vision for something, I have tunnel vision.”

Marrying these traits was essential to Cooper’s understanding of his character, particularly his emotional depth. Something intuitive told the actor that that element needed to be probed in a way that hadn’t been shown on modern television. Ultimately, it became his guiding light.

“Because it’s so prominent where........

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