Adultery star Dominic Cooper unpacks TV's most complicated affair: 'I was disappointed in my character'

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

There's a problem with interviewing Dominic Cooper. The London-born actor is such good company that it's easy to be diverted from the project in hand. A few years ago, we got to the end of a very gossipy half-hour when we realised neither of us had got round to mentioning his new film.

Fortunately, Cooper has plenty to say about his latest role of Tom, a successful GP and committed family man who nevertheless risks everything for forbidden passion in Danny Brocklehurst's new ITV drama Adultery. Scenes of hot-blooded trysts between Tom and his daughter's boyfriend's mother Beth (Romola Garai) abound, from parked cars to kitchens, even the storeroom of a city farm.

So why did the Mamma Mia! star want to commit so wholeheartedly to doing what it says on the tin? "I didn't want to play a man committing adultery for its own sake," he explains. "The age I am now [48], I've seen friends go through it, and I've observed, tried not to judge, but the whole concept of how a man can just do that in the midst of his beautiful family… I was intrigued by my own visceral reaction to it."

Cooper agrees that his strong response may have been triggered by his own early childhood, when his parents split. "I come from a home that didn't stay together," he remembers. "Nobody wants to hurt someone else, but everyone is constantly trying to find love and purpose and work out who they are in the world."

He pauses. "I've just watched the finale of 70 Up and what came across, was how everyone got their strength and happiness through their families and love. I've always wanted desperately for my relationships to work out, I've always wanted a family, and to play this man who blows it all up… I was disappointed in him." What would Cooper have advised such a man? "I'd say, 'Calm yourself down, go and jump in the river, talk to your wife and repair'."

Cooper has no children of his own but is godfather to the son of his friend and former flatmate James Corden. Following relationships with past co-stars Amanda Seyfried and Ruth Negga, he has been with Humans actress Gemma Chan since 2018.

"It's incredibly helpful having a partner in the same industry," he says. "Someone who understands the ludicrous travel and hours involved. I was doing some charity work recently and one of the blokes suggested I took the day off to finish a project. I tried to explain it doesn't work like that, and he just couldn't fathom it."

Is it fair to say that, on screen at least, Cooper has always come across as more of a strayer than a stayer? I'm probably basing that on his breakout role of Dakin in Alan Bennett's The History Boys, both on stage and screen. Dakin was the charismatic flame to whom teachers and fellow pupils alike were attracted. Talking to Cooper now, it seems there was an impressive amount of acting involved.

"We all become dull, boring and domesticated. I've always been terrified of not being good enough, of someone finding me dull and unbearable to be around." Can't he just channel his inner Dakin at such times? "I never thought of that. Wow! That's better than any therapist I've ever had. Thank you."

Equally he could look to his laidback charmer Sky, the young love interest in Mamma Mia!, the Abba-soundtracked romcom that became one of the highest-grossing films at the UK box office on its release in 2008. Cooper reveals his attitude to its extraordinary success has mellowed over time.

"I've spent so many years being a bit pompous, saying, 'It's not like being on stage at the National Theatre'. But now I realise the impact it's had on so many people. Somebody once told me, 'I spent my mother's last few weeks with her, and we watched it every day, and we sang, and we had pure joy'. Acting can often feel quite selfish, egotistical and self-indulgent, so it means a lot to know that what you're doing in the world has some purpose and point to help people."

More recently, though, something interesting has happened. Cooper shares that a family friend who happens to be Jude Law advised him at the start of his career, "Don't go near television". But the last few years have seen Cooper (like Law) hoover up some great parts on the small screen, such as his corruptibly ambitious solicitor Edwyn Cooper in The Gold.

I wonder, have the parts on offer become more interesting as his youthful cocky good looks have made way for a more lived-in handsomeness? I tell him I once asked Rufus Sewell the same question, plus there's the example of his family friend Jude.

"I've never looked anything like Jude or Rufus," is his response. "They're both exceptionally attractive, and I always looked like a prune. It's painful watching this potato roll across the screen and I know I should be doing more… but then you see the ironed faces in Hollywood and you think, I don't think so. And I love feeling for the first time that I'm doing work that I'm proud of, portraying humans in their complexity in a way I couldn't have done when I was 20, because I was an idiot."

Sadly, one of Cooper's new experiences is grief. During a previous interview, when I asked him what kept his feet on the ground, he replied it was Sunday lunches at home with his mum. Now, having lost her two years ago, his answer is slower, but more profound. "You're suddenly untethered, your connection with the universe has gone. She was kind and brilliant, and the one person who would always say, 'Pull yourself together, Dominic'. Having just that memory is not enough, but it's something." He pauses. "I still have friends from nursery school, which my mum also ran. It's very important to keep those people in your life, who know you so well and are the foundations of who you are."

Finally, after Cooper has proved as good company as ever AND us congratulating ourselves on this time mentioning the project, we take our leave, with me thanking him for being so forthcoming, and him offering me my headline. "How's this? Not good-looking any more, but a bit more interesting."

Adultery premieres on ITV1 on Sunday 25 October at 9pm, continuing on Monday at 9pm. All episodes will be available to stream on ITVX.

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