Iain Armitage answers Young Sheldon on-set claims ahead of new book

Iain Armitage says leading Young Sheldon from the age of eight was a big undertaking.

The actor, now 18, has addressed comments from former co-stars that he could be difficult to work with as the child lead of the CBS comedy. He said he always did the best he could, that children are not always perfect, and that he was grateful to the people around him who gave him grace, according to Variety.

Armitage played the title role for all seven seasons of Young Sheldon, a comedy centred on the childhood of Sheldon Cooper. He was eight when the series began. It aired its final episode in May 2024.

The reflections come from Annie Potts, who played Meemaw Connie, and Raegan Revord, who played Missy Cooper. Potts said Armitage could at times be difficult to work with, while also saying that carrying a show at that age was a lot for a small child to manage psychologically. She added that the pressure on a young lead would have been hard for an adult to navigate, according to NJ.com. Revord said spending 12 hours a day, five days a week on set can lead to arguments and clashing opinions.

Armitage did not dispute the long days. He said it was a complete privilege to be on the series and to play the character, according to TV Insider. That response sits alongside his point about age. Eight-year-olds grow up on camera. Mistakes happen in public.

The comments were reported from a recently released excerpt of a new oral history, meaning a book told through interviews with the cast and crew, by Jessica Radloff. The book is titled Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw's-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy and is due out on Oct. 20. Variety attributed its reporting on the excerpt to US Weekly.

Young Sheldon ended after its creators chose to close the story on their own terms following a period when Hollywood strikes disrupted production, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Its success led to a spin-off, meaning a new series built around supporting characters, with Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage premiering in 2024.

What puts this in context for viewers is scale. A network sitcom built around one child means long hours, schoolwork between scenes, and some 200 crew members waiting on a performance. The book promises more detail on how that machine worked, and how the young cast grew up inside it.