Young Sheldon's Zoe Perry Gets Physically Sore From Playing Mary's Rigid Character
Acting can be physically demanding and, at times, even grueling. There are countless stories of movies that permanently damaged actors' bodies. Action star Bruce Willis told The Guardian in 2007 that he suffered "two-thirds partial hearing loss" in his left ear when shooting "Die Hard." According to The Hollywood Reporter, George Clooney suffered a spinal injury performing a stunt for his 2005 film "Syriana" that left him in severe long-term pain that could only be partially relieved from surgery.
Even roles that don't seem like they would be particularly physical can be. Kumail Nanjiani admitted to tremendous physical pain shooting "Welcome to Chippendales," In an interview with Vanity Fair, Nanjiani explained that it had to do with the way the character he was playing held himself. "He's a lot stiffer than I am—he's disconnected from his body, coiled really tight," Nanjiani explained. "I started having this back pain a few months into the shoot, this gnarly knot. It got worse and worse and the pain would go from there all the way up to my ear."
"Young Sheldon" isn't a show that one would expect to take much of a physical toll on the actors. Sheldon's mother, Mary Cooper (Zoey Perry), may run around on the show, but no more so than the average mother. Still, Zoey Perry said that playing the character made her sore because Mary Cooper is a bit of a stiff person.
Being constantly tense is Zoe Perry's least favorite part of playing Mary Cooper
In an interview with Mashable India with Zoe Perry and Lance Barber (George Sr. on the show), Perry was asked what her favorite and least favorite parts were about her character. She said that her favorite part was Mary's passion. "She really cares about what she cares about and she'll let you know!" As for her least favorite part, Perry said it was Mary's rigidity, which she described as "not only metaphorical but literal!" She said, "I find that I am constantly tense when I am playing her. So at the end of the day, I'm a little sore." It does appear that Perry plays the role very stiffly, with Mary always standing up straight and upright. It's easy to imagine how physically difficult that type of person could be to play.
As for what she enjoys about making the show, Perry told the New York Post, "What I love about our show is there's so much heart to it but they also manage to pull the funny out." She pointed out that everybody has frustrating family relationships and that it becomes a fertile ground for comedy. "Young Sheldon" certainly does seem to have more heart as a show than its parent series, "The Big Bang Theory," ever did. Where "The Big Bang Theory" was more likely to end with a joke than a heartfelt emotional moment, "Young Sheldon" is more likely to wrap up stories on that emotional moment instead.