Born Feb. 28, 1972 in Syracuse, NY to an Irish-American father and an Indian-American mother, Cochrane was raised in Grantchester, England, near Cambridge, where he spent most of his childhood. Returning to New York as a teenager, he attended the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts in Manhattan where he began to study acting. While still a student, Cochrane was cast in a segment about drug use on “Saturday Night with Connie Chung” (CBS, 1989) and went on to land a small role in an episode of the short-lived ABC series “H.E.L.P.” (1990).
Making his feature film debut in 1991, Cochrane appeared in a small role in James Dearden’s remake of “A Kiss before Dying.” He landed his first substantial role in the film “Fathers and Sons” (1992), portraying Jeff Goldblum's estranged teenage son. He went on to receive critical praise as the perennially stoned, analytical Slater in Richard Linklater's cult film “Dazed and Confused” (1993) – a film which featured newbie actors Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey. Co-starring as a trigger-happy biker in “Love and a .45” (1994), the versatile actor won praise for his dramatic range, with Variety citing his "wild, hilarious and convincing" portrait of "varying states of paranoia, rage, treachery, delirium and insanity." The film cast him opposite Renee Zellweger, whom Cochrane lived with and was rumored to have dated. The actor re-teamed with Zellweger the following year in the ensemble comedy “Empire Records” (1995), playing a record store clerk who steals the manager's nest egg in a misguided attempt to increase it in Atlantic City. That same year, he hit the festival circuit in George Hickenlooper’s independent flick “The Low Life” (1995), portraying a repressed Ivy League graduate attempting to start a career in Hollywood. Teaming up with Hickelooper once more in 1997, Cochrane appeared in the indie drama “Dogtown.” He went on to portray Dante Santadio in the television miniseries of Mario Puzo’s “The Last Don” (CBS, 1997).
Next, Cochrane landed small roles in a number of films; he appeared in the independent flick “The Adventures of Sebastian Cole” (1998), Joel Schumacher’s “Flawless” (1999) and “Hart’s War” (2002) opposite Colin Farrell and Bruce Willis. Taking on the medium of television in 2002, Cochrane landed the role of Tim “Speed” Speedle on the crime drama “CSI: Miami.” Though the show proved to be a success, Cochrane’s interests lied elsewhere. Dissatisfied with the grueling schedule of series television, he opted out of his contract after two seasons on the series. Making his final appearance in the third season’s premiere episode, Cochrane’s character was shot in the line of duty after his firearm jammed. Though his departure from the series was amicable, Cochrane later expressed disappointment with the manner in which his character exited the show.
Returning to film, he went on to appear in the thriller “Right at Your Door” (2006), which took home the award for Best Cinematography at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and worked once again with “Dazed” director Linklater in the sci-fi feature “A Scanner Darkly” (2006).