Young Sheldon star looks so grown up in most unusual 18th birthday photos

Happy birthday, Iain Armitage!

The actor, best known as the titular Young Sheldon for its entire seven season run, officially becomes an adult, celebrating his 18th birthday on July 15.

Except…he isn’t. Technically speaking. The actor revealed on social media that he was actually spending the big day in-flight, crossing the Prime Meridian and, in a way, skipping the day entirely.

Of course, the airline still managed to make him feel special, with the newly-minted adult (including a prominent stubble to mark the occasion) sweetly documenting the little celebration that was thrown for him by the in-flight crew.

Iain shared a selfie of himself and his mother Lee wearing party hats with streamers hanging above them, sitting in their respective premium seats aboard a United flight.

In another snap, he posed with the flight’s crew, included one photo of him being given a surprise on ground, and a final selfie with the birthday streamers hanging above him.

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“I’m on a flight that’s gonna cross the Prime Meridian, so I’m not actually gonna get to experience July 15th lol. But still celebrating – also apparently I just reached 1,000,000 miles?!” he captioned his photos, and fans quickly took to the comments to celebrate his big day.

“What a way to celebrate! Congratulations on reaching 1 million miles. Safe travels!” one gushed, with another adding: “Happy birthday. Now you’re not so young, Sheldon,” a third also quipping: “Looks like Sheldon is no longer young.”

One fan even quipped: “Dawg is already growing a beard,” with Iain replying back: “My shaver broke yesterday bro I gotta buy a new one.”

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While Young Sheldon, which aired from 2017 to 2024 and served as a prequel series for the hugely popular The Big Bang Theory, made Iain a household name, it wasn’t his first starring role. That happened to be Big Little Lies, in which he played Ziggy Chapman for its two season run (it’s unclear whether Iain will return for the third anticipated season).

Since Young Sheldon’s conclusion, the only other project on Iain’s current radar is the upcoming film The Adam Trials, which he is attached to star in alongside Martin Freeman.

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However, he also has more time in the skies to look forward to – as a professional pilot! The young actor previously expressed his excitement about getting his professional pilot’s license after completing his work on the show (which he eventually did after turning 17).

“I’ve been having a bunch of fun flying while I’m here in L.A.,” he told People, noting that celebrating his birthday in-flight is not an uncommon occurrence for him, given he also turned 16 while flying with his grandmother.

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“We had a kind of a fun, sort of more subdued celebration in the air,” he recalled. “And then right when I touched down, we had a celebration at the airport at Van Nuys, which was so much fun.”