Jim Parsons is famous due to The Big Bang Theory sitcom, in which he played one of the main roles. Moreover, in 2018, he was named the highest-paid television actor in the world and his salary was estimated at $26.5 million.
How did the American actor manage to get such a high income? How did he get on the set of the series that completely changed his life? Houstonski reveals all the secrets.
An innate actor
James Joseph Parsons was born on March 24, 1973, in Houston, Texas. He grew up with his parents and sister in the town of Spring, near Houston.
He was quite an artistic and sociable child who actively participated in all kinds of activities. At the age of six, after a school play, he said he would become an actor when he grew up. Thus, he kept his promise.
After high school, Parsons entered the University of Houston for a Theater degree. While studying, he managed to participate in plays and develop his acting skills.
In 1999, he entered graduate school at the University of San Diego. There he was one of the top students. Many teachers insisted that Jim is a very talented and original actor but also quite specific. Parsons himself loved the learning process so much that he would not mind getting a doctorate in acting if it were possible. However, the studies ended, the diploma was received and the young man went ahead to conquer New York.
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is a popular American television sitcom, which was shown from 2007 to 2019 on the CBS channel.
Parsons impressed the creator of the series at the audition, managing to pass it with flying colors. The actor himself was pleasantly surprised at how much the role of Sheldon Cooper suited him. Although in Jim’s opinion, he and his fictional character are very different, there is some connection between them. Also, Sheldon Cooper was not that easy to play and Parsons did a great job auditioning and got the part.
The audience grew fond of a physicist with social apathy named Sheldon, although he behaved quite inconsistently and not always appropriately.
Jim Parsons became famous thanks to this TV series. From 2009 to 2014, he was nominated for an Emmy Award and won it four times. In 2011, he received the Golden Globe Award.
Over the years, the series became more successful and the actors got more popular, so their finances also improved. During the filming of the fourth season of The Big Bang Theory, Parsons received $200,000 per episode under the contract. In 2013, this amount exceeded $300,000. When it came time to shoot the eighth season, the actor’s income was already over $1 million per episode.
In 2018, Parsons refused further cooperation, although he was offered nearly $50 million. Thus, after 279 episodes, which appeared on the screens, the comedy series was declared finished.
Personal life
Nowadays Jim Parsons lives in New York but he also has a house in Los Angeles.
For the first time, he came out in 2012, saying that he has been in a relationship with a guy named Todd Spiewak for ten years. In 2017, the couple got married. Todd is an art director.
Parsons always spoke incredibly kindly about his husband, even calling their relationship a boring love. They have a dog that they love to walk together. Thus, their family life seems very cohesive and promising.
Parsons told how he and his husband got sick with Covid-19 at the same time. It happened in the middle of March 2020, when the world was just beginning to learn about all the challenges of the disease. When it turned out that it was not a cold, as the men thought at first, a quarantine was already announced. It was a difficult period in their lives because, in addition to the lack of taste and smell, Jim could neither work, nor develop, nor learn new things, nor go outside.