Before Iain Armitage became the young Sheldon Cooper, his first television acting role placed him at the center of a very different kind of story. The actor made his debut as a kidnapping victim in a 2017 episode of NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU.”
Armitage was 8 when the Season 18 episode, titled “Chasing Theo,” premiered on January 11, 2017. He played Theo, a 6-year-old boy whose disappearance prompted an investigation by Lieutenant Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay, and the rest of the SVU squad.
The case begins after Theo’s mother, played by Rachelle Lefevre, leaves him alone in their apartment for the night while she attends a party. Investigators initially consider whether the child’s nanny, played by Adriana DeGirolami, may have taken him. The inquiry also raises a more complicated question: whether the nanny might have believed she was acting in Theo’s best interests because of his home life.
Because Theo is missing for much of the episode, Armitage does not appear throughout the entire story. His performance is instead concentrated in scenes near the beginning and conclusion of “Chasing Theo,” giving the future sitcom lead a dramatic introduction to television.
A Major Year Followed His “SVU” Debut
The procedural appearance opened an especially active 2017 for Armitage. Later that year, he joined HBO’s “Big Little Lies” as the son of Shailene Woodley’s character.
He also began playing young Sheldon Cooper in “Young Sheldon,” the “Big Bang Theory” spin-off that would make him widely associated with the precocious central character. The contrast between that role and his “SVU” debut is striking: before leading a prequel as its young brainiac protagonist, Armitage entered television through a dark missing-child storyline.
His work during 2017 extended beyond those three television shows. Armitage also appeared in the movies “The Glass Castle,” “Our Souls at Night” and “I’m Not Here.” Taken together, the projects made “Chasing Theo” the starting point of a year that quickly expanded his list of screen roles.
Armitage Had Already Visited the “SVU” Set
Although “Chasing Theo” marked Armitage’s acting debut and his first “Law & Order” role, it was not his first experience on the “SVU” set.
An undated throwback shared by Armitage’s official Facebook page showed him visiting the production before his guest appearance. During that earlier visit, he pretended to be a witness on the stand and spent time with Hargitay and Raúl Esparza, who played Rafael Barba.
Armitage’s connection to Esparza extends beyond the procedural. Armitage’s father, Scottish stage actor Euan Morton, appeared with Esparza in the 2003 Broadway production of “Taboo.” Esparza is also one of Armitage’s godfathers, and Armitage called him “Pumpkin” when he was a child.
“Chasing Theo” remains the only time Armitage and Esparza have acted together on screen. Both later participated in the 2020 virtual concert “Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration,” which Esparza hosted.
ShowBiz Take
Armitage’s “SVU” appearance matters as more than an early guest credit because it offers a sharp counterpoint to the role that followed. In the space of one year, he went from playing a child at the heart of a grim disappearance case to portraying Shailene Woodley’s on-screen son in “Big Little Lies” and taking the lead in “Young Sheldon.”
The episode also brought his professional debut into a setting he had already visited through his personal connection to Esparza. That combination gives “Chasing Theo” a distinctive place in Armitage’s early work: it was his first acting role, his only on-screen performance alongside one of his godfathers and the opening chapter of a packed 2017 that included television and film appearances.