‘Young Sheldon’ director recalls ‘worst run-in’ with Iain Armitage on set

Young Sheldon director Alex Reid has recalled his “worst run-in” with star Iain Armitage while working on the hit CBS sitcom, revealing how a comment about the young actor’s performance led to a tense exchange on set. The incident is detailed in entertainment journalist Jessica Radloff’s new book, Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy.

Reid, who directed 36 episodes of the The Big Bang Theory prequel, explained that the disagreement happened while they were filming a scene in which he believed Armitage might not have realised the camera was on him. The director approached the young actor and encouraged him to give the scene his full effort.

“Iain, you’re on camera, so you got to give it your all,” Reid recalled telling him.

However, Armitage interpreted the comment as criticism of his acting. According to Reid, the actor became upset because he believed the director was suggesting he had not been trying hard enough.

“He took that as ‘I’m not giving it my all?’” Reid recalled. He said Armitage was “pissed” and repeatedly insisted they do the scene again so he could demonstrate that he was giving it his all.

The disagreement did not last long. Once filming was over, Reid approached Armitage and apologised, acknowledging that he had chosen his words poorly. He explained that he had been trying to protect the young actor because he was unsure whether Armitage realised the camera was capturing his performance at that moment.

“That was a terrible choice of words on my part, and I apologize,” Reid recalled saying. “I was just trying to protect you because you were on camera, and I wasn’t sure if you knew it or not.”

Reid said the exchange ended on a positive note, with the pair making up before he asked Armitage to take a photograph with him beside the Young Sheldon plaque on the set.

The director also reflected on how Armitage sometimes struggled to communicate his feelings directly. He suggested that the actor would sometimes respond with a stream of words, impressions, accents and jokes rather than openly discussing what was bothering him.

The anecdote appears in Radloff’s oral history of Young Sheldon, which explores the cast’s relationships and the challenges of making the sitcom over seven seasons. The series ran from 2017 to 2024, following Sheldon Cooper’s childhood in Texas before the events of The Big Bang Theory.

Armitage began playing the younger version of Sheldon, originally portrayed by Jim Parsons, when he was eight years old. The role made him the central figure in a production that required him to balance demanding filming schedules with school and the challenges of growing up in the public eye.

The book also includes reflections from other cast members about the pressures Armitage faced as the show’s young lead. Annie Potts, who played his grandmother Connie Tucker, acknowledged that there were times when the actor could be difficult but emphasised the burden of carrying a television series at such a young age.

“Yes, sometimes he was difficult. But I’ve worked with grown-ups who were a lot worse,” Potts said, adding that she believed exhaustion and the expectations placed on him could contribute to his behaviour.

Armitage has also addressed claims about his conduct on set, describing the role as a major undertaking for an eight-year-old. He said he always did his best and was grateful to those who understood that children could make mistakes.

“It was a complete privilege to be on this show and play this character, but yes, it was a big undertaking for an 8-year-old,” he said.

Despite the occasional disagreements, the book presents a picture of a cast whose relationships often resembled those of a real family, with moments of tension alongside genuine affection. Reid’s recollection offers a more specific look at one of those moments and how a misunderstanding between a director and a young actor was resolved through an apology.