British actor Dominic Cooper's career was launched by his significant role in the acclaimed stage and screen versions of the period prep school drama, "The History Boys" (2006), in which he portrayed the cocky teen Dakin. Cooper's buzzed-about performance in the film and his origination of the role on London's West End led to a steady stream of work in BBC/PBS co-productions and supporting roles in period dramas on both the big and small screen, ranging from "The Duchess" (2008), to "Sense and Sensibility" (PBS, 2008), to the charming 1960s coming-of-age feature, "An Education" (2009). Cooper had bona fide blockbusters on his hands with the musical "Mamma Mia" (2008) and his role as Howard Stark in "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) and the Marvel TV series "Agent Carter" (ABC 2015- ), but generally his stage-trained sensibilities were more at home in smaller, character-driven dramas.