Emily Osment Says Age Gap Prompted Intimacy Coordinator Request on ‘Young Sheldon’

Emily Osment requested an intimacy coordinator for romantic scenes with Montana Jordan on “Young Sheldon” because she felt uncomfortable about their age difference, according to published accounts of Jessica Radloff’s book about the CBS comedy. Osment recalled being 30 while Jordan was 18 during their initial episodes together.

Osment played Mandy McAllister, the love interest of Jordan’s Georgie Cooper, after joining the series in its fifth season. Their relationship became a continuing storyline on the “Big Bang Theory” prequel, requiring the actors to establish an onscreen romance while they were still getting acquainted as colleagues.

In Radloff’s “Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy,” Osment explained that Jordan’s youth prompted her concern about their kissing scenes. “He was a baby! A baby with a mullet,” she recalled, describing her reaction to working with the teenage actor rather than suggesting he was a child at the time.

Osment said she raised the issue with producer Tim Marx. An intimacy coordinator could not be arranged that late in the day, she recalled, but one was brought in for subsequent episodes as Mandy and Georgie’s relationship progressed. She described the coordinator’s presence as making the work easier.

Her request also reflected concern about whether Jordan knew he could seek that support himself. Osment said she wanted him to have the option and to feel comfortable, suggesting that he might otherwise have kept any unease to himself. That was her assessment of her co-star, not a direct account from Jordan of how he experienced the scenes.

Director Alex Reid also reflected on the production’s initial approach, acknowledging that the absence of sex scenes had contributed to overlooking the need for a coordinator. He recalled a photograph of the actors sitting in a car between takes and looking in different directions. In his account, the awkwardness also reflected the challenge of performing romantic scenes with someone they had only recently met.

The recollections distinguish the appearance of an onscreen relationship from the practical work required to perform it. Osment’s concern was not presented as an objection to acting out a romance itself, but as a request for support around the circumstances of those scenes. Her account describes a production adjustment that she felt benefited both performers.

Osment and Jordan subsequently continued their partnership beyond “Young Sheldon,” reprising their characters in “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.” Their ongoing collaboration provides the backdrop to the retrospective account: Osment described the coordinator’s involvement positively, while Reid said the actors ultimately developed strong chemistry. The book frames the episode as a lesson from the early stages of that working relationship.