The Times Breakthrough Nominations 2025
Up-and-coming talent across the arts shortlisted by The Times arts and culture team
Owen Cooper - WINNER
Owen Cooper delivered a remarkable breakout performance in Adolescence, a gripping drama centred on a teenage boy arrested for a schoolgirl’s murder. Cast from hundreds of auditions, Cooper brought astonishing depth and authenticity to the role of Jamie Miller, navigating themes of social media, masculinity, and vulnerability with instinctive skill. Filmed in single takes, the series demanded precision and emotional range - both of which Cooper delivered with striking maturity. His performance was a standout in an acclaimed ensemble and marked the arrival of a significant new talent, with future roles already lined up in major film and TV projects.
Nussaibah Younis
Fundamentally is a darkly funny and deeply insightful debut novel by Nussaibah Younis, inspired by her years working in Iraq as an NGO advisor. Following academic Nadia’s chaotic journey into the world of deradicalisation, the novel spans heartbreak, bureaucracy, and unlikely connections in the shadow of extremism. With sharp plotting, biting humour, and complex empathy, Fundamentally explores identity, power, and the blurred line between help and harm. It marks the arrival of a bold new voice in British fiction - one unafraid to find comedy in the most unexpected places.
Alex Margo Arden
Alex Margo Arden is a London-based visual artist whose work interrogates authenticity, authority, and the systems that shape how we experience art and history. With a background in performance and a fascination with theatrical production, she creates research-driven installations that play with repetition, reproduction, and the layered stories behind iconic objects. From paintings damaged in protest to Monroe’s famous dress, Arden reframes cultural relics with wit and rigour. Her ambitious solo shows and upcoming presentation with Ginny on Frederick at Frieze Art Fair mark her out as a rising force in contemporary art—thoughtful, provocative, and impossible to predict.