The onscreen bond between Michael Cooper Jr. and Karen Pittman in Forever is undeniable, and they likely have their real-life connection to thank.
In the Netflix adaptation of Judy Blume’s 1975 novel, Cooper Jr., 23, plays awkward high school basketball player Justin and Pittman plays his protective but modern mother Dawn.
For Cooper Jr., who only decided to pursue acting in 2020, getting to work with the actress — and Wood Harris who played his dad in the show — was a real lesson in the industry.
“Karen is a powerhouse. I love Karen Pittman,” he tells PEOPLE. “I mean, I remember even when we did the table read — she’s been doing it for so long, it’s my first table read, and I was sitting at the head of the thing, and I just remember looking down on the Karen and Wood, and being like, ‘All right, by the way, I’m very new at this. I’ve not been classically trained. I feel like I’m an impostor.'”
“I just had to get it all out there. And they were so kind and so warm. When they saw me panicking or whatever, they pulled me aside, and just gave me words of encouragement.”
Elizabeth Morris/Netflix
Karen Pittman as Dawn and Michael Cooper Jr. as Justin Edwards in ‘Forever’
“But me and Karen really just… I mean, we chat. We were on FaceTime for three hours the other night just talking about Justin and Dawn,” he says of how their bond has continued, more than a year after filming on the series wrapped.
“I learned so much from her. I mean, really, I learned a lot from her,” he continues of Pittman, 39. “She has a son herself around my age, and then my mother very much is a Dawn character. So we really just shared our stories, and kind of took bits and pieces from our lives and created it with these two characters and relationship.”
Cooper Jr. also gives credit to showrunner Mara Brock Akil, who adapted Blume’s book for the screen and “does a really great job at depicting the mother-son relationship” as the love story between Justin and Keisha (Lovie Simone) unfolds.
Elizabeth Morris/Netflix
Ali Gallo as Chloe, Wood Harris as Eric, Lovie Simone as Keisha Clark, Michael Cooper Jr. as Justin Edwards and Karen Pittman as Dawn in ‘Forever’
Aside from three-hour-long FaceTime calls to debrief their characters, Cooper Jr. says he also had a lot to share with his costar when he watched the episodes back for the first time.
“Literally, when I watched it for the first time, I called Karen Pittman and I was like, ‘I just want to smack [Justin] sometimes, and give him a hug at the same time,'” he says. “I’m like, ‘Bro, what are you doing? What are you saying? Please don’t say that.'”
Elizabeth Morris/Netflix
Michael Cooper Jr. as Justin Edwards, Wood Harris as Eric and Karen Pittman as Dawn in ‘Forever’
If the bond between Cooper Jr. and Pittman wasn’t clear enough, on Mother’s Day, the actor posted a joint tribute to both his real-life mom and his fictional one, as she shared a photo of Pittman with his mom on set.
“Double trouble,” he wrote over the shot. “Love both of these genius women I’m lucky enough to call mom. Happy Mother’s Day.”
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Forever is now streaming on Netflix.
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