After 12 seasons and as many years, Jim Parsons threw in the towel on ‘The Big Bang Theory’ in 2019 to devote himself to new challenges (he has increasingly been seen in leading roles in films in recent years, most recently in the tragicomedy ‘ Spoile alert”). But many fans will likely forever associate the 50-year-old with Sheldon Cooper, who is socially awkward, a physics genius and a pop culture enthusiast with a particular fondness for “Star Trek.”
When an actor plays such a defining and popular role for such a long period of time, it can be difficult to distinguish between role and actor. And so some “The Big Bang Theory” fans may be quite shocked to discover how little Parsons actually has in common with his lead…
Of the When asked how much Sheldon Cooper is in Jim Parsons, the actor confessed, “I get a lot of questions about science stuff, of course. I then say, “You’re kidding me!” And even pop culture… I’ve never seen Star Trek, and…Doctor who‘I also do not know it.’
Sheldon Cooper rarely gives in to emotional outbursts, but he does have one when Penny (Kaley Cuoco) gives him a Cheesecake Factory napkin that Spock’s Leonard Nimoy is said to have once used. The scientist is the absolute epitome of a Trekkie – the fact that Parsons, in complete ignorance of the legendary science fiction franchise, didn’t even know exactly what his character was constantly talking about is quite surprising given this background!
And the same was true of the dialogues that revolved around science: “I literally just walked around my apartment saying those words over and over again,” Parsons said in an interview with . “Because I had to trust myself enough so that the right words would actually come out when we shot the scene.”
But whether he was a ‘Star Trek’ nerd or a brilliant scientist, although Parsons could hardly have been further from that in real life, he embodied both character traits very convincingly. But did you know that Parsons had previously appeared in another cult sitcom? If not, you can read more here: