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Fans thought they knew the real Iain Armitage — then his Ellen interview debut happened

Young Sheldon star Iain Armitage’s first-ever Ellen interview left fans stunned by his mannerisms

Iain Armitage, born on July 15, 2008, was just nine years old when he became a household name for his role in 'Young Sheldon', a prequel of 'Bing Band Theory.' On March 20, 2018, he made his first-ever appearance on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', and fans couldn’t get enough of his impeccable manners, impressive vocabulary, and infectious enthusiasm. When Ellen asked, "What is it like working with Jim and playing him as a young Jim or Young Sheldon?" Armitage replied confidently, "I'm going to be honest. It's tremendous, and he is incredible, and he is awesome, and I love him so much, and he is such an incredible coach." To this, Jim Parson replied, "You don’t need much coaching." This statement did not go unnoticed by fans, who wholeheartedly agreed.

Soon the YouTube comments flooded in as fans couldn’t stop raving about how well-mannered and intelligent the young actor was. “He’s such a character!! He’s so polite and well-spoken – kid’s got a lot going for him!!” one fan wrote. Another added, “He literally has a better vocabulary and better manners than most teenagers and adults I know.” A particularly heartwarming comment read, “Whoever raised this kid needs a gold medal! He has such good manners.” Meanwhile, one fan jokingly remarked, “You don’t need much coaching. So true lol.”

But it wasn’t just his manners that stood out. Some found his confidence intriguing, with one user writing, “I am shocked by the way this kid talks... He is so comfortable talking in front of a lot of people, he is well-articulate and smart. A little annoying for me because he is egocentric, but very cute.” Another fan couldn’t help but connect his intelligence to his 'Young Sheldon' role, saying, “Just like Leonard said, Sheldon just reproduced himself by mitosis...”

Fans were right in their assessment of Armitage's closeness to the onscreen personality of Sheldon. In an interview with People, Armitage shared, “Basically, anytime they yell ‘cut,’ and we have a turnaround time where they're moving around the cameras or where they’re going to a new sscene,and I have free time, I’m going to school instead of just hanging around with the adult actors,” he explained. “They’re all sitting around gabbing away and I’m going and doing math. Now, I’m sort of at that point where I’ve done most of my normal schoolwork and I kind of just get to do fun stuff, like things that I’m interested in, like learning Arabic and just having a fun time.” 

As 'Young Sheldon' came to an end in 2024, Armitage reflected on his journey in an interview with the LA Times. "Yeah. For so many people on our set, myself included, it was very hard to say goodbye. But I think it would have been hard to say goodbye if it had happened tomorrow or in 10 years. I don’t necessarily think that for me it was this massive letting go where I was so mournful it was happening right now. At the end of the day, as much as I love it, and as fun as it has been, it is a job. And all jobs like this do come to an end. I’m looking forward to what happens next.”