Young Sheldon's Zoe Perry 'Teared Up' After Reading Shocking Scene as Series Nears End

Zoe Perry's emotions got the best of her while reading a pivotal moment in Cooper family history!

The actress — who plays a young Mary Cooper on Young Sheldon — told TVLine even though she knew that her character's husband George Cooper (played by Lance Barber) would die of a heart attack, as first established in The Big Bang Theory, her reaction while reading how the family gets the news of his death came a surprise.

"I knew that we were getting the news in the script, but I hadn’t yet read it to see how that happens," she recalled, of reading the script of the episode, tiled, "A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture."

Some members of the Cooper family were in the midst of planning a move to Houston so George could coach football at a university.

George was late to take family portraits with a photographer when Mary opened the door to her husband's colleagues, who gave her the news that George had died of a heart attack while at work off-screen.

"As I started to read it, to see all of the plans being made — the excitement, Missy’s excitement — I was tearing up just reading that. The loss was so incredible. It was a loss of a future," she said, referring to her character's daughter, Missy (played by Raegan Revord).

Missy was excited to move to Houston, where she could start new and would no longer be compared to her brother Ian Armitage's Sheldon.

In a joint video interview with Barber, 50, accompanying the article, Perry told TVLine

IATSE and Studios ‘Constructively ,...

m>that actually filming the scene was "intense."

"I don't know that I was planning it but I was angry at the news, or at even the threat of the news," she said of her emotional reaction when her character learned that her husband had died.

Perry — who has plays Mary (a role originated by her mother Laurie Metcalf in The Big Bang Theory) for seven seasons on Young Sheldon — explained that surprising moments, like Mary's son Georgie's (Montana Jordan) wedding to his girlfriend Maddy (Emily Osment) have made her emotional while filming the sitcom's final season.

"I was surprised by my own reaction to Georgie’s marriage. I think maybe there was a suggestion in the script that I might be emotional, but I was truly emotional," she shared.

Perry added that she remembered being "so relieved" that George got to watch his son get married in an episode called "A Proper Wedding and Skeletons in the Closet" before he died.

Following the episode, Iain Armitage also shared a tribute to Barber on Instagram following his departure from the series.

“Love you, George! Love you, Lance!!!” he shared in the caption.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The series finale of Young Sheldon airs Thursday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Related Articles

Follow Us

Michael C. Hall to Return for ‘Res,...