Jim Parsons Biography

James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for playing Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. He has received several awards for his performance, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy.

In 2011, Parsons made his Broadway debut portraying Tommy Boatwright in the play The Normal Heart, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination. He reprised the role in the film adaptation of the play, and received his seventh Emmy nomination, this time in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

Early life

Jim Parsons was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas, and was raised in one of its northern suburbs, Spring. He is the son of Milton Joseph "Mickey/Jack" Parsons, Jr. (February 6, 1949 - April 29, 2001) and teacher Judy Ann (ne McKnight). His sister Julie Ann Parsons is also a teacher. He attended Klein Oak High School in Spring. Parsons points to a role in Noises Off during his junior year as the first time "I fully connected with the role I was playing and started to truly understand what it meant to be honest on stage." After playing the role of the Kola-Kola bird in a school production of The Elephant's Child at age six, Parsons was determined to become an actor. The young Parsons was heavily influenced by sitcoms, particularly Three's Company, Family Ties, and The Cosby Show.

After graduating from high school, Parsons received a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston. He was prolific during this time, appearing in 17 plays in 3 years. He was a founding member of Infernal Bridegroom Productions and regularly appeared at the Stages Repertory Theatre. Parsons enrolled in graduate school at the University of San Diego in 1999. He was one of seven students accepted into a special two-year course in classical theater, taught in partnership with the Old Globe Theater. Program director Rick Seer recalled having reservations about admitting Parsons, saying, "Jim is a very specific personality. He's thoroughly original, which is one reason he's been so successful. But we worried, 'Does that adapt itself to classical theater, does that adapt itself to the kind of training that we're doing?' But we decided that he was so talented that we would give him a try and see how it worked out." Parsons enjoyed school and told an interviewer that he would have pursued a doctorate in acting if possible: "school was so safe!.....you frequently would surprise yourself by what you were capable of, and you were not surprised by some things." Parsons graduated in 2001 and moved to New York.

Parsons traced his family's history on TLC's Who Do You Think You Are? in September 2013 and discovered French heritage from his father's side. One of his ancestors was the French architect Louis-Franois Trouard (1729-1804).

Career

Early career

In New York, Parsons worked in Off-Broadway productions and made several television appearances. In a much-discussed 2003 Quiznos commercial, Parsons played a man who had been raised by wolves and continued to nurse from his wolf "mother". He had a recurring role on the television show Judging Amy and appeared on the television series Ed. Parsons also had minor roles in several movies, including Garden State and School for Scoundrels.

Breakthrough role in The Big Bang Theory

Parsons has estimated that he auditioned for between 15 and 30 television pilots, but on many of the occasions when he was cast, the show failed to find a television network willing to purchase it. The exception came with The Big Bang Theory. After reading the pilot script, Parsons felt that the role of Sheldon Cooper would be a very good fit for him. Although he did not feel any sort of relationship with the character, he was enchanted by the dialogue structure, the way the writers "brilliantly use those words that most of us don't recognize to create that rhythm. And the rhythm got me. It was the chance to dance through that dialogue, and in a lot of ways still is."

In his audition, Parsons so impressed series creator Chuck Lorre that Lorre insisted on a second audition to see if Parsons could replicate the performance. Parsons was cast as Sheldon Cooper, a physicist with social apathy who frequently belittles his friends and the waitress who lives across the hall. The role requires Parsons to "rattle off line after line of tightly composed, rhythmic dialogue, as well as then do something with his face or body during the silence that follows." Parsons credits his University of San Diego training with giving him the tools to break down Sheldon's lines.

Television critic Andrew Dansby compares Parsons's physical comedy to that of Buster Keaton and other silent film stars. Lorre praises Parsons' instincts, saying that "You can't teach that." Lorre describes Parsons' "great sense of control over every part of his body, the way he walks, holds his hands, cocks his head, the facial tics as 'inspired'." Reviewer Lewis Beale describes Parsons' performance as "so spot-on, it seems as if the character and the actor are the same person." Parsons admits that the work is "more effort than I ever thought a sitcom would take. And that's really the fun of it."

In August 2009, Parsons won the Television Critics Association award for individual achievement in comedy, beating Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Neil Patrick Harris. Parsons was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, winning in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In September 2010, Parsons and co-stars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $200,000 per episode for the fourth season of The Big Bang Theory, with substantial raises for each of the next three seasons. The three were also promised a percentage of the show's earnings. In January 2011, Parsons won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy (the award was presented by co-star Cuoco). From August 2013, Parsons, Cuoco and Galecki each earned $325,000 per episode. In August 2014, Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco once again signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $1,000,000 per episode for the eighth, ninth, and tenth seasons of The Big Bang Theory, as well as quadrupling their percentage of the show's earnings to over 1% each.

Other works

In 2011, Parsons appeared with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, and Rashida Jones in the comedy film The Big Year. It was released in October. That same year, he appeared as the human alter ego of Walter, the newest Muppet introduced in The Muppets. On May 18, 2012, Parsons began appearing on Broadway as Elwood P. Dowd in a revival of Harvey.

Parsons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 11, 2015. He voiced Oh, one of the lead roles in the DreamWorks Animation comedy film Home (2015), alongside Rihanna. On January 29, 2015, it was announced that Parsons would star as God in the Broadway production of An Act of God, a new play by David Javerbaum and directed by Joe Mantello. The play began previews at Studio 54 on May 5, 2015 and closing August 2, 2015, to positive reviews.

In 2017, Parsons started hosting his own SiriusXM talk show, Jim Parsons Is Too Stupid for Politics. The show will run for six weeks.

Personal life

Parsons lives in New York City neighborhood of Gramercy Park while also maintaining a residence in Los Angeles. His father died in a car crash on April 29, 2001. On May 23, 2012, an article in The New York Times noted that Parsons is gay and had been in a relationship for the last ten years. His husband is art director Todd Spiewak. In October 2013, Parsons called their relationship "an act of love, coffee in the morning, going to work, washing the clothes, taking the dogs out"?a regular life, boring love". Parsons and Spiewak wed in New York in May 2017.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Happy End	Casting Assistant
2004	Garden State	Tim
2005	Heights	Oliver
2005	'	Justin
2005	'	Sidney	Short film
2006	10 Items or Less	Receptionist
2006	School for Scoundrels	Classmate
2007	On the Road with Judas	Jimmy Pea
2007	Gardener of Eden	Spim
2011	'	Crane
2011	'	Human Walter	Cameo
2012	Sunset Stories	Prince
2014	Wish I Was Here	Paul
2015	Home	Oh	Voice
2015	Visions	Dr. Mathison
2016	Hidden Figures	Paul Stafford
2018	A Kid Like Jake	Greg Wheeler	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Ed	Chet	Episode: "The Road"
2004	Why Blitt?	Mike	Unsold Fox pilot
2004	Taste	Kris	Unsold CBS pilot
2004-2005	Judging Amy	Rob Holbrook	7 episodes
2007-present	'	Sheldon Cooper	Main role
2009	Family Guy	Sheldon Cooper	Voice Episode: "Business Guy"
2010	Glenn Martin, DDS	Draven	Voice Episode: "Jackie's Get-Witch-Quick Scheme"
2011	'	Nightmare	Voice Episode: "Blind Rage Knows No Color"
2011	Pound Puppies	Milton Feltwaddle	Voice 2 episodes
2011	iCarly	Caleb	Episode: "iLost My Mind"
2011	Eureka	Carl the Jeep	Voice Episode: "Do You See What I See"
2012	Family Guy	Gay-Jacker	Voice Episode: "Joe's Revenge"
2012	'	Henry Applesauce	Voice Episode: "Generic Holiday Special"
2012	Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil	Larry Wilder	Voice Episode: "Jock Wilder's Nature Camp"
2013	Who Do You Think You Are?	Himself	Season 4, Episode 8
2014	Saturday Night Live	Host	Episode: "Jim Parsons/Beck"
2014	The Normal Heart	Tommy	Television film
2014	Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas	Buddy	Voice
2017	Michael Jackson's Halloween	TBA	Voice
2017	Young Sheldon	Older Sheldon Cooper	Narrator

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Locations
1993	The Balcony	Torturer (Arthur)
1994	Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead	Rosencrantz
1995	La Ronde	Alfred
1995	Endgame	Clov	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1995	Marat/Sade	Steve	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1996	Guys and Dolls	Rusty Charlie	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1996	Eddie Goes to Poetry City	Eddie	New York Theatre
1996	Jack and the Future Is In Eggs	Jack
1996	Othello	Iago	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1996	Suicide in B-flat		Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1996	Woyzeck	Doctor / Horse's Head	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1997	The Cherry Orchard	Yasha	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1997	Chili Queen	Buddy	Stages Repertory Theatre
1997	Camino Real	Baron	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1997	Last Rites	Tiger Clean	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1998	Threepenny Opera	MacHeath	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1998	Below the Belt	Dobbitt
1998	In the Jungle of the Cities	J.	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1998	Tamalalia 3: The Cocktail Party	Psychotic psychiatrist	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1998	King Ubu is King	Tom, Mister Nice Guy	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1998	The Pitchfork Disney	Presley Stray	Stages Repertory Theatre
1999	Marie and Bruce	Herb / Fred / Waiter	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1999	Tamalalia 4: The Camp-Out	Ralf	Infernal Bridegroom Productions
2001	Da		Old Globe Theatre
2002	What Happened Was	Jackie	The Paradise Theatre
2001	The Castle	Jeremiah	Manhattan Ensemble Theatre
2002	Tartuffe	Valre	La Jolla Playhouse
2004	The Love for Three Oranges (Gozzi)	Prince Tartaglia	La Jolla Playhouse
2011	The Normal Heart	Tommy Boatwright	John Golden Theatre
2012	Harvey	Elwood Dowd	Studio 54
2015-16	An Act of God	God	Studio 54 / Booth Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Awards	Category	Work	Result
2009	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy	The Big Bang Theory
	TCA Awards	Individual Achievement in Comedy
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
2010	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Comedy
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy Actor
	TCA Awards	Individual Achievement in Comedy
	Online Film & Television Association	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
2011	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor- Television Series: Musical or Comedy
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
	Online Film & Television Association	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy Actor
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2012	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
	Online Film & Television Association	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy Actor
	TCA Awards	Individual Achievement in Comedy
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy
2013	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor- Television Series: Musical or Comedy
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actor
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Comedy
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy Actor
2014	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
	Critics Choice Television Awards	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	Online Film & Television Association	Best Actor in a Comedy Series
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Comedy
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie	The Normal Heart
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedic Actor	The Big Bang Theory
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Actor
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Comedy
2016	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedic Actor
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
	Satellite Awards	Best Ensemble - Motion Picture	Hidden Figures
2017	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

See also

• Character actor
• LGBT culture in New York City
• Television sitcom