Iain Armitage

Iain Armitage is an American child actor. He is best known for his starring roles as Sheldon Cooper in Young Sheldon, a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, and Ziggy Chapman in Big Little Lies. In 2018, he received the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series – Leading Young Actor for his role as Sheldon Cooper. He also provided the voice for young Shaggy Rogers in Scoob! (2020), and for police puppy, Chase in PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021).

Armitage resides in Arlington, Virginia, and is the son of actor Euan Morton, who was born in Falkirk, Scotland, and theater producer Lee Armitage. It was reported that he was named after Sir Ian McKellen. He is the grandson of former United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Lee Armitage. Armitage speaks Russian, which he began learning in 2020.

2010s

Armitage first gained prominence via his YouTube series Iain Loves Theatre where he reviews stage shows from musical theater. His videos caught the attention of the theater industry, including a couple of agents who wanted to sign him up. During the 2015 Tony Awards, he served as a correspondent for Perez Hilton and was even referenced in the opening number of the show.

In January 2017, Armitage starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ("Chasing Theo"), playing a young child, Theo Lachere, who has been kidnapped. He appeared in Impractical Jokers "Look Out Below", where he was talked to by Murr in "Who Let The Dogs Out?", in the second challenge of that episode. He played Ziggy Chapman in the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies and he appeared in The Glass Castle, a film adaptation of Jeannette Walls' memoir of the same name. In the same year, he was also in the films I'm Not Here and Our Soul at Night, which also starred Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.

In 2017, Armitage was cast as Sheldon Cooper as a child in Young Sheldon, a prequel to the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. In December 2018, he appeared in an episode of The Big Bang Theory, playing young Sheldon on a videotape recording intended to cheer up and encourage an older Sheldon.

2020s

In 2020, Armitage voiced young Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo film Scoob!. He is set to reprise the role in the next film Scoob: Holiday Haunt, which is set for release in late 2022 on HBO Max.

In 2021, Armitage voiced Chase in PAW Patrol: The Movie, replacing Justin Paul Kelly from the Nickelodeon television series.