We all know nine-year-old Sheldon Cooper will grow up to be the rather odd man he is today in The Big Bang Theory.
But one of the delights of watching spin-off prequel Young Sheldon, which returns for a second season, is seeing how it all unfolds.
Iain Armitage plays the child prodigy whose interest in advanced mathematics and science are at odds with his family and his small-town neighbourhood, where all that really matters is church and football.
Sheldon’s parents, George (Lance Barber) and Mary (Zoe Perry), do their best to try to get him to fit in with his schoolmates. But he’s also out of kilter with his siblings, Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Missy (Raegan Revord).
Only his beloved, mean-talking, hard-drinking grandmother, Meemaw (Annie Potts), really understands him.
When TV WEEK was invited to meet Iain and Annie in London, we saw how close they were off-screen too. During our chat, Annie put a comforting arm around a rather jet-lagged Iain who had snuggled up to her on a couch.
Iain Armitage is back for season two.
Iain, 10, then revealed that he hadn’t seen any of the The Big Bang Theory before landing the role of everyone’s favourite fussy theoretical physicist.
“It’s not really aimed at my audience level,” he says, “and I don’t really watch that much TV in general.”
But Jim Parsons, who stars as Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory, narrates Young Sheldon and serves as an executive producer, helped Iain understand the character.
“He’s awesome and we get along very well,” Iain says of Jim.
“A lot of the stuff he taught me was about two years ago, so my brain has absorbed it and it’s easy to get into Sheldon now. I don’t have to think about it as much as I used to.”
Though it’s clear Iain is a bright and curious kid, he confesses he doesn’t know what he’s talking about for much of the time on the show when he’s espousing all manner of scientific theory.
“I just kind of make my mouth pronounce the words,” he says with a laugh.
“They tell me what it means, but I’m definitely not smart enough to understand.”
Guiding Sheldon through life is Meemaw, and when Annie (Designing Women, Love & War) is asked why she thinks they get on so well, she looks down at Iain, cuddled up beside her, and smiles.
“Well, we didn’t have to work on that very hard, as you can see,” Annie, 65, says.
Sheldon has a ally in his worldly-wise grandma, Meemaw.
“I have three sons of my own, so I was just happy to have a little boy in my life again,” she says. “He’s very fun to act with, because he is a good actor.
“Meemaw makes no bones about the fact that Sheldon is her favourite grandchild. She likes the others, but she hardly has the time of day for them.
“She senses Sheldon is unusual and that he needs her because his parents are terrified of him. She’s not afraid of him – and she can teach him things he doesn’t know, like poker. Very useful things!”
In real life, Iain, the son of actor Euan Morton and theatre producer Lee Armitage, prefers studying history.
“I’m actually home-schooled,” Iain says.
“I like science, but it’s not my best subject. When I’m filming, I have to do school work during breaks, but that’s OK, because I love school.”
Want to read more interviews with your favourite stars? Pick up a copy of this week’s issue of TV WEEK. On sale now!
