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Young Sheldon marked the first spin-off of The Big Bang Theory, which became famous for its familial storyline and impeccable cast performances. The makers chose the perfect actors to play the characters, some of whom had already been established in the original series.
Zoe Perry was cast as Sheldon Cooper’s mother, Mary Cooper, and impressed the audience with her nuanced performance. Interestingly, in TBBT, the older version of Mary Cooper was played by Zoe’s real-life mother, Laurie Metcalf.
In a 2020 interview with the New York Post, Zoe revealed that it was easy for her to play Mary, as she had already imbibed her mother’s actions and gestures, so she did not have to mimic anybody to look the part:
“Genetics definitely played a very helpful part in this portrayal because I didn’t have to really think about mimicking my mom as Mary — it’s just part of who I am, to an extent.”
Zoe Perry once talked about stepping into her mother’s shoes as Mary Cooper in Young Sheldon
Zoe Perry was a main cast member of Young Sheldon across all seven seasons, as Mary Cooper remained an integral part of the storyline. On the other hand, her mother, Laurie Metcalf, made guest appearances on The Big Bang Theory, playing the older version of the same character.
In her interview, Zoe also revealed that she already had experience handling children, as she is the eldest of her siblings. The actress stated:
“I guess maybe by virtue of me being the eldest of many siblings, and by quite a lot, and also having many babysitting jobs throughout my life, I just have a fair amount of experience with kids.”
Further talking about how she prepared for her role in Young Sheldon, Zoe said she watched all the episodes of The Big Bang Theory that starred her mother. To get the East Texas accent right, she sought training from a dialect coach ahead of her audition:
“I definitely watched all the episodes my mom had done on ‘Big Bang Theory’ to make sure we were in the same ballpark. But we also have a great example in Montana Jordan, because he is from East Texas and he’s legit. So we can always kind of tune our ear to him.”
In the show, Zoe’s version of Mary Cooper has a troubled past. She loves her three children, Sheldon, Missy, and Georgie, and often gets overprotective about them. Mary is a religious woman who worries about Sheldon’s awkward interactions with others and wants to protect him at all costs.
In 2019, Zoe received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Young Sheldon. She is now reprising her role as Mary Cooper as a guest star in the show's sequel series, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage.
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Apart from the CBS sitcoms, the actress has appeared in shows like Scandal, The Family, My Boys, and NCIS. Young Sheldon also starred Iain Armitage as Sheldon, Lance Barber as George Cooper Sr., Montana Jordan as Georgie Cooper Jr., Raegan Revord as Missy Cooper, Emily Osment as Mandy Elizabeth, and Annie Potts as Connie Tucker.
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