Jake Gyllenhaal Surprises Teen Star Owen Cooper with a 'Lucky Duck' Before the 2025 Emmys

Teen actor Owen Cooper got more than a nomination to celebrate ahead of the 2025 Emmys — he received an unexpected visit and a good-luck charm from one of Hollywood's biggest stars, and his greatest idol.

On the eve of the 2025 Emmy Awards, 15-year-old Owen Cooper, already making history as the youngest performer ever nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, got a surprise visit that left him speechless.

Netflix UK posted a video on X showing the "Adolescence" star talking about his dream celebrity encounter. Without hesitation, Cooper named Jake Gyllenhaal as the person he most hoped to see at the ceremony. He joked that if the two ever crossed paths, he wouldn't even be able to get a word out — he would just stare in awe.

What Cooper didn't know was that Gyllenhaal was already on his way to meet him. "Now Im nervous," the 44-year-old "Presumed Innocent" actor admitted as he prepared to knock on the door of the hotel room where Cooper was filming. "Im excited," he said.

When Gyllenhaal walked in unannounced, Cooper froze before blurting out "Oh my God" several times, then immediately hugged the Hollywood star he'd just been talking about.

Gyllenhaal had also come bearing a good-luck charm. Handing Cooper a small wrapped package, he explained, "Before I was nominated for an Oscar, a friend gave me something like this. It brought me luck, so I wanted to pass that on." Inside was a ceramic "lucky duck" with a personalized engraving on the bottom.

"To keep in your pocket, to give you a little bit of luck," Gyllenhaal told him. Cooper, who faced stiff competition from Ashley Walters, Bill Camp, Javier Bardem, Peter Sarsgaard, and Rob Delaney, shook his hand and said the gesture "means a lot."

The meeting ended with photos and laughter, as Gyllenhaal jokingly teased that he showed up because Cooper had been talking about him nonstop. "I just figured Id stop it and get it done," he quipped.

Posting about the surreal experience meeting his idol, he wrote on Instagram, "Honour and a privilege to meet an icon of the game like Jake and will never forget it @jakegyllenhaal." Gyllenhaal kindly responded, "The honor was mine man. Good luck tonight!!!! [sic]"

Gyllenhaal's lucky duck turned out to be a true lucky charm, as Cooper emerged victorious in the Emmy Awards, making him the youngest male Emmy winner ever.