Sheldon Cooper is a character that audiences have come to know over the years thanks to The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, where he was played by Jim Parsons and Iain Armitage, respectively. Through the latter show, audiences got to see the character during his early years as a child prodigy in Texas. While many people think they’ve met or know someone just like Sheldon, there’s always the question of whether the character was actually based on anyone real.
Allegedly, at least the younger version of Sheldon Cooper had a real-life influence. Not only that, he’s someone who turns out to be pretty close to the original show. Of course, it often takes more than one person to bring a brilliant fictional character to life.
Jim Parsons’ Nephew Helped Inspire the Character
While Sheldon was already a character on The Big Bang Theory, a real-life relative of Parsons ended up inspiring Young Sheldon. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series co-creator Chuck Lorre revealed he came up with the idea of a show revolving around a younger version of Sheldon when Persons sent him a video of his 10-year-old nephew, described as a “brilliant, extraordinary, off the hook, crazy smart kid” and a “prodigy.”
Parsons asked Lorre if he thought they could build a story around it. Lorre realized the idea of a genius kid was already part of The Big Bang Theory‘s lore, as it would be perfect for Sheldon Cooper’s backstory. After all, over the years, viewers heard stories of him growing up in Texas and were introduced to the people in his life, like his mother, brother, and sister, so there was already enough material to get the ball rolling.
However, Lorre had one caveat for starting the new series: he would only do the project if The Big Bang Theory‘s writer and producer Steven Molaro got onboard, too. Molaro’s answer is obvious and hindsight, as he and Lorre are credited as Young Sheldon‘s co-creators.
By ranking all the seasons of Young Sheldon, we aim to offer a fond recollection of the very moments that made the series such a beloved sitcom.
Sheldon Cooper Is Made Up of a Few Real-Life Influences
While Parsons’ nephew would inspire the younger version of the character, Sheldon Cooper already had quite a few real-life influences before making his debut on The Big Bang Theory.
While at the Paley Festival, The Big Bang Theory co-creator Bill Prady has said that the character originates from his time working as a computer programmer, having based Sheldon on someone he described as a “human calculator.” The person could solve complicated math problems in his head, but didn’t like to compute tips, feeling that judging the service needed more of a human than a numeric touch. Sheldon and Leonard Hofstadter were also named in honor of actor Sheldon Leonard.
Interestingly, before Parsons was cast in the role, Chuck Lorre originally intended for actor Johnny Galecki to play the character, only for the actor to feel he was more suited for Leonard. Prady has said he was so impressed by Parsons’ read for the character that he felt he “must have gotten lucky” to have him for the part. Reportedly, Parsons was so good he almost lost out on the role, as the showrunners worried he wouldn’t be able to replicate it.
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Young Sheldon Needed Perfect Casting to Bring Its World to Life
Naturally, additional cast members would be needed to bring the story of Sheldon Cooper’s younger days to life. For Sheldon himself, actor Iain Armitage was chosen for the part. Armitage, who is the son of British actor Euan Morton and American theater producer Lee Armitage, first came to prominence online with Iain Loves Theatre, a YouTube series in which he reviewed musical shows.
This series helped Armitage get offers from agents, eventually leading to a budding acting career and media appearances, with one of his first acting roles being the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode “Chasing Theo.” He was also cast as Ziggy Chapman in the HBO series Big Little Lies, in addition to roles in the films The Glass Castle, Our Souls at Night, and I‘m Not Here. Armitage would also gain some prominent voice acting roles, such as in SCOOB! and PAW Patrol: The Movie.
However, most agree that his big break is getting cast as Young Sheldon‘s title character. Armitage would even get to play the character on the parent show in the episode, “The VCR Illumination.” Interestingly, Armitage is a natural blonde and had to dye his hair darker in order to capture the character’s look. However, one thing in Armitage’s favor when adding a touch of realism to the series is that many felt he and Raegan Revord, who plays the younger version of Sheldon’s sister, Missy, could pass for siblings in real life.
With a series inspired by, and revolving around, family, the series would prove to be a family affair in more ways than one, especially with one certain casting choice. Actress Zoe Perry was cast as Mary Cooper, Sheldon’s mother, taking over the role from her own mother, Laurie Metcalf, who played the character in The Big Bang Theory. This would not be the first time Perry would play a younger version of one of her mother’s characters, having previously appeared as a younger version of Jackie Harris, her mother’s character, in two episodes of Roseanne.
