Opposed to being stern and uncompromising like in The Big Bang Theory, Zoe Perry’s Mary Cooper is much more patient and forgiving of Sheldon’s antics in Young Sheldon. This characteristic is one of the prime factors that contributed to Sheldon’s behavior in the original show, which is reasonable to see why fans aren’t too fond of Perry’s Mary, who often enables Sheldon.
But despite fans’ complaints against her character, The Family star absolutely adores her job of playing mom, as the producers helped the Coopers feel like a real family on set.
One Inclusion on Set Helped Zoe Perry Feel like a Real Mother to Her Onscreen Kids
Speaking of her experience on Young Sheldon, Zoe Perry recalled feeling like a real mom to Montana Jordan, Iain Armitage, and Raegan Revord on set, thanks to the producers. When the filming for the prequel began, Perry revealed that the producers started a tradition of tracking the kids’ height on set as the sitcom progressed, which lasted throughout the show’s run.
She told the New York Post:
It’s such a lovely little inclusion one of our producers created. We have a growth chart and it starts from [the kids’] heights at the pilot and goes all the way until today. By the end of the season they’ll get another mark and it’s nuts to see how much they’ve grown
Reflecting back on Georgie actor Montana Jordan, who was like a “cute baby” in the pilot, Perry said, “I don’t want to embarrass him … he was so sweet and little and now he’s a teenager”. This simple addition to the show contributed to the family dynamic on the set.
Zoe Perry Teared up While Reading the Script for Young Sheldon‘s Finale
While playing Mary came with its own sets of challenges, as it was physically taxing for the actress following the character’s upright stature, overall, Zoe Perry had a blast on the sitcom. But considering she was heavily invested in her character, the ending was a gut punch to the actress, as she recalled getting very emotional while reading about George Cooper’s death. Even though she was aware they were getting the news in the script, she still couldn’t hold back her tears.
She recalled:
I knew that we were getting the news in the script, but I hadn’t yet read it to see how that happens. When I started reading it, to see all of the plans being made — the excitement, Missy’s excitement — I was tearing up just reading that. The loss was so incredible. It was a loss of a future
Although it’s understandable why many were not fond of her version of Mary compared to the one in the original, played by Perry’s mother, in hindsight, it did add more depth to her demeanor in TBBT.
Young Sheldon is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
