Iain Armitage has no regrets about saying goodbye to Young Sheldon. In a candid interview featured in Jessica Radloff‘s new oral history, “Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy”, the actor who played the titular genius admits he was the cast member “the most happy about the show ending” when the CBS sitcom wrapped its seven-season run in May 2024.
Iain Armitage as Young Sheldon (Credits: Bill Inoshita / Warner Bros. Entertainment)
While his co-stars mourned the end of the hit prequel, Armitage — who was just 8 when the show began in 2017 — refused to join in. “I wasn’t going home and crying all day,” the now 18-year-old actor says. Being surrounded by constant mourning felt “heavy and annoying and weird,” and he refused to “stay in that heaviness forever.”
Why He Wanted Out
Armitage’s reasons were refreshingly practical. He wanted to be in Virginia, he wanted to travel, and he was ready for whatever movie came next. His mother, Lee Armitage, had instilled in him “a very healthy sense of ephemerality, and the fact that nothing good can last and everything changes, and that’s a good thing.”
Most bluntly: “I would hate to be on a show playing 23-year-old Sheldon. That would suck. I wouldn’t want to do that. So it was a perfect time to end it.”
He Even Turned Down the Spinoff
Armitage’s clean break extended to the franchise’s future. He was offered a cameo to reprise Sheldon in the Thanksgiving episode of the spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage — and declined, with his team feeling it was important he do other roles first. Series co-creator Chuck Lorre admitted in the book he was “disappointed” but understood the reasoning.
The book, released this month, also reveals behind-the-scenes friction around the finale, including Annie Potts‘ (Meemaw) sadness over the Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik cameos, which she felt returned adult Sheldon “mean and unchanged.”
Looking back, Armitage allows for a touch of nostalgia: “I miss working at Warner Bros., I miss the crew and the people I love.” But his verdict stands — ending Young Sheldon was exactly right.
Also Read: Anna Faris Was “Hurt” By Chuck Lorre’s Comments About Her ‘Mom’ Exit: “Yikes”
Source: Variety — read the full story there.
