Young Sheldon‘s Iain Armitage gets to poke fun at himself while playing a fictional version of himself on Ghosts.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the Thursday, April 16, episode of the sitcom, Armitage, 17, is introduced as part of a high-stakes card game at the Woodstone Manor.
“I was a child actor. I am going through a rebrand right now,” he tells others about his career pivot. “I just got cast in a pretty gritty poker movie and that’s why I am here — to do research. My agent is comparing it to Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls because it is edgy. I am edgy now.”
The fictional actor’s new persona is called into question when Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) brings him some apple juice. Armitage, however, proves how serious he is about being “edgy” by ordering a “Pepsi straight up.”
According to the official synopsis, Thursday’s episode follows Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay “needing to raise a large sum of money to pay the IRS.” They decide to “host a high-stakes poker game at the mansion.”
“It is my return to CBS and I’m very happy about it. I have loved Ghosts for a really long time and it’s one of the only shows that — outside of my own acting work which I don’t often watch — I really genuinely enjoy,” Armitage exclusively told Us. “I started watching right when it first aired and would consistently watch on the night it aired all throughout the ending of Young Sheldon and for the past few years now.”
Armitage joked he was “not subtle” about his love for the show.
“I have talked about wanting to be on the show for a very long time now, and I’m finally [getting] the chance, so [I’m] overjoyed and thrilled,” he gushed. “I would have done anything. I would have been in the background of one shot for three seconds if I got to work with those awesome people. But I was so happy I got to be in a pretty up close and personal capacity.”
After filming one episode, Armitage is already imagining the options if he was “killed in a later episode” and got to stick around, adding, “I really found the opportunity to play an upscale and little bit annoying version of myself.”
Armitage isn’t ruling out more returns.
“I’m looking forward to whatever happens next and not trying to force anything. I am enjoying the ride and it’s really fun,” he added. “I also do like the fact that if I ever want to, there’s a home for a character that I love. I’ve got options.”
While speaking to Us, Armitage joked about his big dream of having a “monopoly” over his favorite CBS shows. “I need to get on Tracker and I need to get on Survivor. I need to be kidnapped really terribly and have Colter Shaw rescue me,” he quipped to Us. “I need to go on the island [on Survivor] at some point. I’d love to make a little appearance on every CBS show. That’d be fun to jump around.”
As for a cameo on Young Sheldon‘s spinoff Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage?
“Honestly, it would be so fun to be on that show. I’m a huge fan [of the show and] of Montana Jordan and Emily Osment. They are so talented — everybody that’s currently on that show is so great,” Armitage told Us. “I watch the show all the time and my whole family loves it. They’re all doing such a great job as a cast and as a show.”
Despite tuning in each week, Armitage broke down his hesitation about joining just yet.
“I believe when you have a cast that great — and when you’ve already cemented a really great core cast — diluting it or adding other people doesn’t mess it up. But I wouldn’t want to barge in on what they got going on,” he noted. “It’s really great, so I would be honored to be part of it.”
He continued: “There’s no current plan in the works for it but, you know, if maybe a couple seasons down the line that happens … it’d be really exciting and fun. Now that’s one of those shows that I get to sit back and be a fan of. I don’t even have to be a part of it. I just get to nerd out and love it.”
Armitage is keeping an open mind about all options.
“I’m lucky in a few ways. Because I started doing this when I was so young, I have a lot of people that will come to me and tell me, ‘You look so different.’ It’s kind of interesting to think that if I start another project and do something completely different, it’s a nice opportunity to differentiate myself in some way,” he explained. “But that’s not even really my goal. I’m really proud of the work I did on Young Sheldon. I loved it. It was a super fun seven years. I am not running from it in the slightest. I would love to appear on Georgie and Mandy, but for now just the fact that I can switch up and do something totally different is awesome and really fun.”
Ghosts airs on CBS Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Paramount+.
