Ming-Na Wen Says Young Sheldon Star Is Actually Sheldon In Real Life
Young Sheldon actor Iain Armitage is actually Sheldon Cooper in real life, Ming-Na Wen says. The Marvel and Star Wars actress recently joined The Big Bang Theory franchise, appearing on the prequel series as Dr. Carol Lee, a professor at East Texas Tech. Expectedly, she butts heads with Sheldon, but off-camera, Wen has nothing but great things to say about her young co-star.
Armitage has been playing the titular character on Young Sheldon for five years now. CBS wanted to fully capitalize on the popularity of The Big Bang Theory, so they launched its first and still only spin-off in 2017. For two years, it aired back-to-back with its parent series, but after the nerd-centric show wrapped up in 2019, the prequel has been standing on its own, and it’s doing quite well. It remains to be a ratings juggernaut for the network, and a lot of it has something to do with Armitage’s brilliant portrayal as Sheldon, who was first played by Jim Parsons.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Speaking with TV Insider, Wen opens up about her recent guest appearance on Young Sheldon. When asked about her thoughts on working with Armitage, she shared a story about the child actor learning Russian during the COVID-19 lockdowns. This made her believe that he’s actually Sheldon in real life. Read her full answer below:
What a remarkable, charming, funny kid. He was trying to teach me Russian. I asked his mom, “Do you speak Russian?” And she’s like, “No. During the COVID lockdown, he was bored, so he decided to learn Russian.” He is Sheldon.
Unfortunately, Armitage’s Russian abilities weren’t showcased on Young Sheldon — at least not yet. Instead, Wen was able to converse in Mandarin and French with Wallace Shawn’s Dr. Sturgis and Ed Begley Jr.’s Dr. Linkletter respectively. Meanwhile, Sheldon was left with speaking Klingon by himself until Lee learned how to say “no” in the language to put the socially-inept genius in his place. But this doesn’t mean that The Big Bang Theory spin-off can’t make use of Armitage’s real-life skill in the future. With Young Sheldon already locked until at least season 7, CBS has plenty of opportunities to incorporate it in their storytelling.
Armitage may actually be very similar to his Young Sheldon character, but many would argue that Parsons is still the definitive version of Sheldon. His The Big Bang Theory co-star Mayim Bialik, who played his wife, Amy, recently explained how the actor was so good in the role despite not being a real scientist like she is. In any case, fans can check out both Armitage and Parson’s respective iterations of the character on Young Sheldon as the latter provides the voiceover on the sitcom.
Source: TV Insider
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Ana Dumaraog
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Accidental movie fan who is perpetually curious, Ana rekindled her love for writing several years back and married it with everything pop culture. The result is a passionate young writer who could ramble (and of course, pen) about films and series multiple hours a day. She has a soft spot for The Lion King, old songs, and home design; is currently obsessed with old sitcoms (The Golden Girls!); and won’t dare watch any horror films although she’s (ironically) dying to see one. Though a bit late to the party and was an actual Force non-believer, she now finds the Star Wars franchise quite fascinating (fun fact: it was a crazy Jar Jar Binks/Sith theory that drew her in).
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