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I always knew actor Lance Barber as George Sr., the Cooper patriarch in Young Sheldon, the spin-off series to The Big Bang Theory.
However, while recently rewatching TBBT Season 5, I found out that the actor had debuted in the sitcom universe years before his role as Sheldon's father.
George Sr. was a breakthrough role for Lance Barber, and it also helped retcon many storylines around Sheldon's father from the parent series. While Jim Parsons' Sheldon misunderstood his father in TBBT, he became a favorite character in the spin-off show.
However, before George Sr., the actor appeared as Jimmy Speckerman in The Big Bang Theory Season 5 Episode 11, 'The Speckerman Recurrence'.
More on this in our story.
Lance Barber played two different roles in The Big Bang Theory
Lance Barber is most famously known for his role as George Sr. in Young Sheldon, but the actor has also appeared in another role in The Big Bang Theory.
Years before Young Sheldon was even conceived, Lance Barber appeared in The Big Bang Theory Season 5 Episode 11 as Jimmy Speckerman, Leonard's high school bully.
Lance Barber's alternate role in the sitcom universe was not only very different than his role in Young Sheldon, but he played this with conviction as well. When I re-watched the episode and realised that Leonard's bully is none other than Sheldon's father, it was initially weird, but the episode was aired six years before Young Sheldon aired.
The makers (and even Lance Barber himself) were unaware at the time that he would end up playing Sheldon's father in the spin-off series.
In The Big Bang Theory, Barber's character, Jimmy Speckerman, reconnected with Leonard after high school. While Leonard was initially scared to meet his bully, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard supported him.
However, as the episode continued, it was clear that Jimmy had not changed one bit and still looked down upon Leonard.
Also Read: The Big Bang Theory did justice to everyone but this one main character
Lance Barber went on to play George Sr. in Young Sheldon
While it is rare for an actor to play two different roles in a show, Lance Barber was an exception. By the time The Big Bang Theory was on season 12, the actor had already debuted as George Sr. in its spin-off series, Young Sheldon.
After appearing as Jimmy Speckerman in season 5, Barber appeared in the show's final season, but this time as George Sr.
In The Big Bang Theory Season 12 Episode 10, The VCR Illumination, Sheldon looks back at some of the VCR tapes from his childhood with Amy, where Lance Barber can be seen playing his father, George Sr.
This makes sense because the actor was already appearing in Young Sheldon, and his role as Jimmy Speckerman was minor and limited to one episode.
It was only when fans rewatched the episode that they realised that Lance Barber was already a part of the TBBT universe.
In addition, before his breakthrough role as George Sr., Lance Barber often appeared in minor roles in sitcoms. In addition to TBBT, the actor has also appeared in Brooklyn 99, Bob's Burgers, How I Met Your Mother, Monk, Gilmore Girls, and more.
Looking back on Barber's career, it is evident that the actor had quite an experience working on sitcoms, and TBBT happened to be one of them. However, it opened doors to stardom as he got his breakthrough role as George Sr. in Young Sheldon.
After George Sr.'s tragic death in the Young Sheldon finale, Lance Barber recently reprised his fan-favorite character in Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Episode 12.
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Also Read: Did George from Young Sheldon die in real life?
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