Cooper Tomlinson
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • producer
  • screenwriter
  • YouTuber
Years active 2016–present
YouTube information
Channel
Genres
  • Sketch comedy
  • cringe comedy
  • horror shorts
Subscribers 1.2 million
Views 609 million
Last updated: June 8, 2026

Cooper Tomlinson is an American actor, comedian, producer, screenwriter and YouTuber. He is best known for the sketch comedy YouTube channel "that's a bad idea", which he co-created with Curry Barker. He starred in and co-produced the 2024 film Milk & Serial along with Barker,[1] and starred in and co-wrote the upcoming film Anything but Ghosts along with Barker.[2][3]

Tomlinson studied at the New York Film Academy campus in Los Angeles, California. There, he met Barker, a fellow student. They both soon began making videos together on YouTube, which they described as "our film school outside of film school",[1] forming the sketch comedy channel "that's a bad idea",[4][5] creating and publishing numerous comedy sketches and short films on their YouTube channel and TikTok.[5][6]

Along with his writing career, Tomlinson starred as Ian in Barker's 2025 film Obsession, starring along with Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter.[7][8] In 2026, he guest-starred in an episode of the Paramount+ western television series Dutton Ranch.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Barasch, Alex (May 11, 2026). "The Twenty-Six-Year-Old Behind Obsession, a Terrifying Tale of a Crush Gone Awry". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  2. ^ Couch, Aaron (September 3, 2025). "Curry Barker to Direct, Star in 'Anything But Ghosts' for Jason Blum, Roy Lee". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  3. ^ Couch, Aaron (April 23, 2026). "Curry Barker, Cooper Tomlinson's 'Anything But Ghosts' Lands at Focus". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  4. ^ "Films directed by Curry Barker". Letterboxd. Archived from the original on May 15, 2026. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Couch, Aaron (March 10, 2025). "'Milk & Serial' Filmmaker Curry Barker Signs with UTA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 10, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  6. ^ Earl, William (August 26, 2024). "How 'Milk & Serial,' a Clever Slasher Made for $800 and Released for Free on YouTube, Became a Must-Watch for Horror Fans". Variety. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  7. ^ Piepenburg, Erik (May 14, 2026). "'Obsession' Review: I Love You to Death". The New York Times. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  8. ^ Barbieri, Candel (May 26, 2026). "Cómo el elenco de 'Obsession' transformó la película de bajo presupuesto en un éxito" [How the cast of 'Obsession' transformed the low-budget movie into a success]. Esquire (in Spanish). Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  9. ^ "Dutton Ranch". Plex. Retrieved June 2, 2026.