Lance Barber was bitten by the acting bug at a young age after seeing some exciting productions at the local community theatre. Barber now portrays young Sheldon Cooper as Sheldon Cooper’s father, but he still remembers his early days learning to act at the same tiny theatre with another now-famous comedian.
Barber recently spoke with ET’s Kevin Frazier about how he enrolled in an Equity program at The Barn Theatre School in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he took classes and acted in performances alongside Jennifer Garner when she was younger.9mnup6t7uhjoyu8
Barber noted, “She was a young theatre student who came out to perform summer-stock theatre to acquire that experience as well, and we did some shows together.”
“My memory of Jen is the same as everyone else’s — she was delightful and wonderful, and everyone at the time had a crush on her.”
“She was a genuinely kind and talented girl,” Barber said, adding that when Garner’s career took off, everyone at the theatre school was ecstatic for her. “No one was startled, and everyone was proud.”
Years later, Barber has established himself as one of television’s most memorable sitcom fathers, portraying George Cooper to a pint-sized Sheldon (Iain Armitage) on the hit CBS series.
Barber, when asked about the situation, responded, “I’m not sure about iconic. I believe I will require some time before attaining that status!”
“However, it’s a wonderful company to be in,” he continued. “I always thought it felt like a regular male part I could perform as a kid seeing parents of all kinds.”
Young Sheldon is a prequel to the smash popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory, in which Barber also starred. The actor portrayed the high school bully Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki). As a result, when he was cast to play Sheldon’s father, some fans had a hard time comprehending it.
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“It was great for me because it was obvious to me when that happened and I got the job,” he added, “that that was going to be noticed, especially given how deep the fans of both series are.” “As a result, it wouldn’t go unnoticed by the fandom.”
“I’ve heard some and there’s been some crazy stuff like is this a multidimensional universe,” Barber laughed as he recounted how some in the community came up with some pretty wild theories to explain it.
He went on to say, “It’s nonsense.” “It’s a different actor in a different role!”
