Iain Armitage bio, age, height, parents, family, Young Sheldon, girlfriend, siblings 2024

Iain Armitage Biography

Iain Armitage is a young American actor whose career began at the age of nine. He first gained fame as the young Sheldon Cooper from the series "Young Sheldon," a prequel to the iconic show "The Big Bang Theory." He has also played Ziggy Chapman in the drama "Big Little Lies" and Theo Lasher in the series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Childhood and Family

Iain was born in the summer of 2008 to parents Ewan Morton and Lee Armitage in Arlington, Virginia. His parents are creative people. His father is a well-known theater actor of Scottish descent, his mother is a theater producer. His maternal grandfather, politician Richard Armitage, held a high position in the US government from 2001 to 2005.

At the age of 4, with the help of his parents, he started a YouTube channel called "Iain Loves Theater." He reviewed various performances such as "Othello," "Dear Evan Hansen," "Cats," and "Home Alone." His reviews, mostly positive, gathered a sizable audience, and Armitage later explained with his charming smile:

I just loved theater, so I started sharing my comments. I plan to continue doing this for every show. Some agents watched my videos and saw a boy who loves to talk and knows how.

One of those agents was Jamie Pillet from New York. She offered to meet with the parents of the talented and likable boy to discuss the prospects of his acting career.

Young Iain Armitage with a theater program

Iain's mother was hesitant for quite a while, but in 2014, the boy went to New York with his parents to watch a theater performance and at the same time signed his first contract. At that moment, he was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera. Around the same time, he participated in the entertainment program "Impractical Jokers," and not long after, he served as a guest judge on a talent show for kids.

4 year old Iain performs Stars (Les Miserables)

Acting Career

Iain Armitage made his film debut in 2017 in the series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." He appeared as the young Theo Lachere, a child kidnapped by criminals.

Iain Armitage in the series 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'

At the same time, the boy played Ziggy Chapman, the son of one of the main characters in HBO's drama series "Big Little Lies." Shailene Woodley portrayed Armitage's on-screen mother.

Iain Armitage in the series 'Big Little Lies'

When asked how he prepared for his significant role, the young actor replied:

My main tool is my imagination. I love to play. Things like 'Transformers,' for example. Movies are basically just play, but on a larger scale, and people watch it.

Armitage's filmography later included movies like "I'm Not Here" (Stevie), "The Glass Castle" (young Brian Walls), and "Our Souls at Night" (Jamie Moore). The latter was released by Netflix, starring the outstanding Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Talking about this experience, where Iain played Fonda's character's grandson, he said:

I become so happy just saying her name. I mentioned that I like fishing, but I don't want to harm any fish. She said, 'Well, there's such a thing as fly-fishing with barbless hooks so the fish won't feel pain.' The next day she booked a fly-fishing trip for the two of us.

The first project where Armitage played the lead role was the "The Big Bang Theory" spin-off called "Young Sheldon." It tells the story of a child prodigy misunderstood by both his parents and his wild twin sister, portrayed by Raegan Revord.

Iain Armitage in the series 'Young Sheldon'

Discussing their work together, the young actress admired how easy and fun it was to work with her partner:

Actually, it feels like I indeed have a twin brother. I'm an only child, just like Iain, and we literally... I swear, I'm just amazed that we have different blood types, we're that similar! Yes, we're literally the same! We like exactly the same things, play the same games...

In 2018, he won the Young Artist Award as the leading young actor for the best role in a series.

Besides his main role in "Young Sheldon," Armitage also successfully worked in voice acting for animated films. Thus, his voice brought to life young Shaggy Rogers in "Scoob!" and Chaser in the movie "PAW Patrol: The Movie."

Iain Armitage voiced Chaser in the movie 'PAW Patrol: The Movie'

Iain Armitage's Personal Life

The talented actor has a large fan base, but he keeps his personal life private and does not share whether he has a girlfriend. Ian continues to run his video blog and practices tap dancing. His friends include actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Broadway musical "Hamilton." Armitage once spoke highly of the production, and they have been friends since.

In an interview, the actor stated that he is a huge fan of the band Queen and David Bowie, and at home, he has twin hamsters named Romeo Marx and Julian Spencer.

Iain Armitage Now

In 2023, Armitage continued filming the seventh season of "Young Sheldon," which was expected to be the final one. The premiere was set for February, with the last episode planned for May 2024. The concluding season features a total of fourteen episodes. The creators are Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro, the writers of the original series. Commenting on the conclusion of the TV show, Iain posted a photo from the set with his on-screen brother and sister on his page, writing:

In case you wondered, I love my family. There’s about 200 more people who make Young Sheldon happen and I’m grateful for each of them. We will make the best 7th season we can possibly make- and behind the scenes there will be lots of laughter and lots of tears because I love all of these people so much.

Also in 2024, fans of the series "Big Little Lies" were eagerly awaiting the release of the third season, which was expected to feature Iain's character.

Iain reviews Evita (Shakespeare Theatre)

Interesting Facts

Iain Armitage prefers the captivating world of theater to cinema:

Right now, I'm happy doing both. The good thing about being a child is that you don't have to say, 'Okay, this is going to be my job.' You get so lost in it that you actually think it's reality. And, in my opinion, that's much better than television or movies because it's really happening right in front of you.
Some fans were surprised to learn that Armitage, starring in a prime-time TV series, did not earn as much as expected. According to TMZ, the young actor was paid $30,000 per episode, while more well-known and experienced actors can earn up to $500,000 per episode. Iain earned $660,000 for the first season and approximately $686,000 for the second.

When asked about the ease of playing a child prodigy, Armitage admitted that his character and he are very alike because Iain also enjoys 'bugging' people and cleverly gets what he wants, practically by persistence.

Paul Avalos editor