Private Cooper

Private Cooper
General information
Name	Private Cooper
Known aliases	Cooper
Category	Main character Murder victim
Gender	Male
Base of Operations	Scotland
Known relatives	None
Year of birth	1973 (approx)
Year of death	N/A
First Appearance	Dog Soldiers (2002)
Played by	Kevin McKidd

Private Cooper is a fictional soldier and a central character featured in the 2002 werewolf movie Dog Soldiers. He was played by actor Kevin McKidd.

Biography

Cooper was a member of the British Army holding the rank of private. In 2002, he enlisted in a British Special Forces unit under the command of Captain Ryan. During an exercise in Northern Wales, Captain Ryan instructed him to shoot a dog to show that he had the intestinal fortitude to be in his unit. Cooper refused to shoot the defenseless animal and Ryan decided that he did not have the sort of fiber required for Special Forces.

Cooper remained with the Army and joined a unit lead by Sgt. Harry G. Wells. Cooper's unit was conducting a training exercise in the mountains of Scotland when they came upon his rival Captain Ryan. Ryan had been mortally injured and was stumbling through the woods virtually insensate. Cooper's team rendered medical assistance and tried to get to a safe point, but they were unable to radio anyone for an emergency evacuation. While the soldiers struggled to save Ryan's life, a werewolf attacked the group, nearly disemboweling Sgt. Wells. The commandos were fortunate to find a young woman named Megan, who was driving down a mountain road and offered them shelter. Sarge was brought back to Megan's house where Private Cooper tended to his injuries.

That night, more werewolves appeared and clawed their way into the house. The soldiers fought back, but Cooper's comrade, Terry Milburn was killed during the struggle. The werewolves retreated temporarily, giving Cooper and the others a momentary respite. Cooper learned that Captain Ryan's Special Forces team deliberately sent the commando squad into the forests as bait for the werewolves. Special Forces wanted a live one for themselves so they could study it. As this knowledge shocked the members of Cooper's unit, they also realized that Ryan was recuperating from his wounds at an unnatural pace.

The werewolves continued to attack the house and Cooper coordinated with the others to put together an escape plan. Although they nearly succeeded in acquiring a land rover from a nearby shed, several more soldiers including Private Joe Kirkley were killed. Cooper then discovered that their newfound ally - Megan, was in fact a werewolf herself. Unlike the others, she had tried to maintain her hold on humanity, but the change overtook her and she could no longer resist the urge to transform. As Megan changed into a werewolf, Cooper shot her in the head.

Sarge began feeling a bit better and his wounds were rapidly healing, just like Captain Ryan's. He realized that it was only a matter of time before he would become a werewolf as well. Cooper and Sarge split off from their comrade Spoon as the werewolves attacked en masse. Spoon was killed and Cooper had to report the unhappy news to Sarge.

Cooper and Sarge retreated down into the kitchen. He hid in the cellar while Sarge ripped out the gas line from beneath the stove. He ignited it, causing the entire house to explode, killing several werewolves as well as himself. Cooper however, was safe down in the cellar. Captain Ryan, still a werewolf, was in the cellar as well and attacked Cooper one last time. Cooper found a silver letter opener and stabbed it into Ryan's chest. As the werewolf reeled in pain, Cooper finished him off with the last bullet from his handgun. With everyone else dead, including the final werewolf, Cooper walked away from the burning wreckage of the building.

---