No longer a teen cliche, Georgie brings quiet charm

We sort of figured we knew Georgie Cooper.
When “Young Sheldon” started, he was a high school quarterback who charmed girls. He quit the team, quit school, bought an RV that was a mobile bedroom. He was sort of a generic TV teen, easy to ignore.
Then that changed. Even before “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ (8 p.m. Thursdays, starting Oct. 17, on CBS) began, he had evolved.
“He’s growing up and becoming the man of the household,” Montana Jordan (shown here), who plays him, told the Television Critics Association.
Emily Osment, who plays his wife Mandy, agreed. “He’s been coasting,” she said, “living at home, being an 18-year-old.” Then came the baby and his father’s death and marriage to someone 11 years his senior.
Even before they met, there were signs that Georgie was worth noticing.
“He’s always been an entrepreneur,” Jordan said, “doing different things in school, selling candy and all kinds of other things. Maybe this is his way to shine in the family.”
It’s been a tough family to shine in. Producer Chuck Lorre points to dialog in the new show, with Georgie saying “he’s always been considered the dumb brother. And he encourages it, because people underestimate him.”
That goes back to “Big Bang Theory,” which started all this. “Penny’s character (brought) different kinds of intelligence,” Lorre said.
In a room full of physicists, she was sometimes the wisest person. Georgie does the same, Lorre said. “He brings things that Sheldon can’t bring– like empathy and compassion and enthusiasm and determination and grit.”
Jordan seems to fit the role easily. In a show that’s set in Texas, he’s the lone native Texan. He grew up in Ore City, a town of 1,100, in the northeast corner of the state, and has had only one other role.
At 12, he played Josh Brolin’s son in an obscure film. Two years later, he was cast in “Young Sheldon.” His tone is authentic. (Lance Barber, who played his dad, tried to emulate Jordan’s accent.) So is a casual approach to grammar and to life. “I try to be down-to-earth and respectful,” Jordan said.
That can get complicated as his show grows. “Me and my girlfriend were talking about this the other day. She was like, ‘You realize that your name is on one of the biggest new shows coming out.’ And I don’t think about it much, honestly. I just go with the flow.”
Besides, he’s too busy to allow distractions. Jordan has implied that he’s never seen “Big Bang” episodes. “I’ve got a 4-month-old daughter, so I don’t watch much television.”
Like Georgie, he’s sort of growing into a new life.