Montana Jordan's Favorite Part Of Playing Georgie Cooper On Young Sheldon

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Few spin-offs in the history of television were quite as successful as "Young Sheldon." It certainly never hurts when the show that generated the spin-off, in this case, "The Big Bang Theory" was itself wildly popular, much like how "Cheers" eventually gave birth to "Frasier." Instead of going the sitcom route, this series focused on Sheldon Cooper's younger years growing up in Texas, using a multi-cam format without a live audience. A bit part of the show's appeal is getting to know Sheldon's family, including his older brother Georgie, named after their father.

Montana Jordan, who plays Georgie Cooper in all 141 episodes of "Young Sheldon" across its seven-season run, went on to reprise the role in the spin-off "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage." So, what attracts a young actor like Jordan to a role like that, particularly for such a long time? In a 2021 interview with Glitter, the actor spoke about what initially attracted him to the show. In short, the role of Georgie lined up with Jordan's real life.

"When I first read the role of Georgie, I thought I was reading an autobiography. Everything lined up to my life back in Texas. I played football, and I always got in trouble for having a messy room. I mean I could sit here and name 100 things that me and Georgie have in common."

Jordan may be in his 20s now, but when the show first hit the airwaves in 2017, he was just beginning life as a teenager. Actors tend to draw from life experience as much as they can. With Georgie mirroring his life up to that point, it makes sense why Jordan would be interested in the role. It also explains why Chuck Lorre and the producers saw it fit to cast him.

The main cast from "The Big Bang Theory" all went on to other projects in Hollywood, but Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon Cooper in every episode of the show, continued the franchise as both an executive producer of "Young Sheldon," in addition to serving as the narrator. So he certainly had a say in who was going to play the various members of Sheldon's family, his brother Georgie included.

Articulating further in the same interview, Jordan spoke a bit more specifically about what he liked most about playing Georgie on the show. For the young actor, it all boiled down to getting to fill the shoes of an older brother. That represented a significant difference from his real life.

"For me, the coolest part would be being able to play an older brother. I have two older sisters in real life, so I was always the youngest with them picking on me, but oh, how the tables have turned for this project. Missy and Sheldon better watch out."

While this show may be over, "The Big Bang Theory" universe lives on. CBS recently started airing a new spin-off, "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage," which sees Montana reprising his role as Georgie alongside Emily Osment's Mandy McAllister.

"Young Sheldon" is streaming now on Max, or you can grab the complete series on Blu-ray/DVD via Amazon.

Montana Jordan not only had to be an older brother and a mentor of sorts to Sheldon, but he eventually became a father to a child with Emily Osment's Mandy McAllister. But relatively young fatherhood is just one more thing that the actor ended up having in common with his character.

"At the end of 'Young Sheldon,' Georgie had just lost his father, and now he's got a newborn," Jordan explained in an interview with Gold Derby. "There's a lot of struggle, but that's what's great about it. It's very relatable and there's a lot of young parents around the world that are going through the same thing. We just hope that it can help somebody out in this world get through what they're getting through."

Jordan's connection with the character of Georgie, and the reason he's enjoyed playing him so much, has to do with the similarities he's able to draw within his real life. That now extends to parenthood. The actor further revealed that becoming a father himself helped him connect with Georgie on a new level. As he explained:

"You know, anytime you got real-life experience it helps, it definitely helps to bring it to the screen and helps me understand the emotions that [the character] is going through. We were kind of having children at the same time, raising them at the same time. So, yes, 100 percent, it's definitely helped me understand what Georgie's going through and everything he has on his plate."