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Cooper Raiff
American filmmaker and actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cooper Michael Raiff (born February 11, 1997)[1][2] is an American filmmaker and actor. He has received praise for his films Shithouse (2020) and Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022).[3] In August 2022, Raiff launched his production company Small Ideas.
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Early life
A native of Dallas, Raiff attended the Greenhill School.[1] He participated in school theatre productions and studied at the Dallas Young Actors Studio for 4 years.[4] During his senior year, he wrote and performed in his first play.[5] Raiff enrolled at Occidental College in Los Angeles, withdrawing in 2019 to focus on film.[6]
Career
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During spring break in 2018, Raiff stayed on campus to make Madeline & Cooper, a 50-minute short film that he uploaded to YouTube.[7] He then tweeted a link of the video to filmmaker Jay Duplass, who met with Raiff and encouraged him to adapt the project to feature-length; it became Raiff's debut feature Shithouse, in which he starred, directed, wrote, produced, and co-edited.[8] The film premiered at the 2020 SXSW where it was named Best Narrative Feature.[9] Distributed by IFC Films,[10] it opened in October 2020 to positive reviews.[11][12]
In August 2021, it was announced that Raiff was attached to direct and co-write a television adaptation of Naoise Dolan's novel Exciting Times starring Phoebe Dynevor for Amazon Prime.[13]
Raiff's second film, Cha Cha Real Smooth, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for the Dramatic Competition, and is available on Apple TV+.[14] The film was reportedly purchased by the company for $15 million.[15] He appeared on the 2022 Variety list of directors to watch.[16]
In July 2022, it was announced that Raiff would direct The Trashers, a drama starring David Harbour and Cooper Hoffman.[17] However, Raiff later revealed in 2025 that the film had been cancelled due to financing issues.[18]
On August 2, 2022, Raiff partnered with Clementine Quittner of Black Bear Productions to launch his own production company, Small Ideas.[19] Later that year, he was given the Maverick Award at the 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival[20] and appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Hollywood & Entertainment.[21]
In 2023, Raiff filmed his first television series, Hal & Harper, starring alongside Mark Ruffalo and Lili Reinhart.[22]
In October 2024, it was announced that Raiff had been cast as Aaron in the family comedy-drama See You When I See You, directed by Jay Duplass. The film is based on Adam Cayton-Holland's memoir Tragedy Plus Time and co-stars David Duchovny, Hope Davis, and Kaitlyn Dever.[23] It is set to premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
In November 2025, it was announced that Raiff would star opposite Annie Murphy in the romantic comedy All That She Wants.[24]
Raiff has cited Emma Seligman, Sofia Coppola, Greta Gerwig, Ryan Coogler, and the Duplass brothers as influences.[25][26]
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Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and recognition
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References
External links
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