“She gave me a wonderful tip”: When Zoe Perry revealed the advice her mother gave her to play Mary Cooper in Young Sheldon

Before Zoe Perry debuted the role of Mary Cooper in Young Sheldon, an older version of the character had already been established in The Big Bang Theory. Interestingly, Zoe’s real-life mother, Laurie Metcalf, played the role in the original sitcom.

When Zoe auditioned for the character in the prequel series, her mother gave her some advice that helped her ace the role. In a 2018 interview with HeyUGuys, the actress revealed that Laurie Metcalf suggested she trust the script as the writers working on TBBT and Young Sheldon were all geniuses:

“She gave me a wonderful tip. Before I went in to audition, she said, ‘Trust that the humor will be on the page. Those writers are genius, and it’s basically foolproof.’ She was like, ‘All you need to do is really just ground the rest in reality.’”

Zoe Perry once revealed how her mother’s advice helped her play Mary Cooper in Young Sheldon

Zoe Perry then talked about how her mother’s suggestion helped her play her character in Young Sheldon, as she was able to connect well with the child actors on the show:

“Beyond that being a great actor note, I think it’s especially true for our show because, you know, we are working with these young talents, who are very much natural, [and] very present in scenes. So I think it’s on us to try and make those relationships as realistic as possible.”

In another interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Zoe acknowledged that being the daughter of Laurie Metcalf helped her land the role as young Mary Cooper, as she has similar mannerisms and voice to her mother's:

“We have lots of similarities when it comes to our voices and mannerisms, and I’m lucky that I have that at my disposal — not only for this part, but in general. When I act, if I stumble upon something that reminds me, unintentionally or unconsciously, of either of my parents, I’m grateful for it because I respect them so much for what they’ve done.”

However, Zoe added that despite being the frontrunner for the role due to her mother’s performance in The Big Bang Theory, she was still not sure whether she would get the part, as television is an unpredictable industry where several factors come into play:

“I didn’t want to get my hopes up about it because you never know how things are going to shake out. I didn’t put too much stock in the idea that this could be a slam dunk because you never know. Even when something seems to make sense on the page, there’s always stuff you’re unaware of.”

Veteran actress Laurie Metcalf made recurring appearances as Sheldon’s mother, Mary, on The Big Bang Theory from 2007 to 2018. In 2017, Zoe began playing her younger version in Young Sheldon and impressed everyone with her nuanced performance. She also earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the Critics' Choice Television Awards 2019.

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Following the conclusion of Young Sheldon, Zoe reprised her role as May in Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, which premiered on CBS in 2024. Her other television works include the shows Scandal, The Family, NCIS, My Boys, and The Conners.

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