Jim Parsons, with his perfect characterization of Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, conquered fame and received recognition from the entertainment industry. The series boosted his career after twelve 12 seasons as part of the main cast, which also included Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch, until its end in 2019 divided the fans. between those who agreed that he had already completed his cycle and those who claimed that he could give much more.
When The Big Bang Theory said goodbye to the public almost three years ago, both the cast and their fans went through a kind of mourning, which like any process ended with resignation. The truth is that even though Parsons was at the height of his popularity thanks to comedy, he reached a turning point in his career that led him to the difficult decision to leave the most important character in his life, the beloved scientist with severe social problems, Sheldon Cooper.
As reported by the actor in interviews after his dismissal from the show, as the start date for the recordings of season 12 of The Big Bang Theory approached, he realized that he would be 46 years old at the end of filming. In his opinion, more than a decade on the same program is a long time to do it with the same emotion and without getting tired. He ensured that Sheldon’s narrative arc was fully fleshed out, hence he felt there was really nothing left for his character and was ready to call it quits.
“I wasn’t really excited about playing the role anymore. It was a wonderful job. I’m sure a lot of people go through the same thing in other jobs where he’s not fully excited and wants a change.”
By the time Jim Parsons announced to The Big Bang Theory creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady that their journey together on the sitcom had come to an end, both they and CBS agreed and focused on making a closing for the story of the peculiar and admired group of friends who made audiences from all over the world laugh. Perhaps the first complication had been left 12 years ago, which although fleeting, could have changed its beginnings, when the producers came to doubt that the actor could with the character.
In retrospect today, it would be impossible to imagine the indiscreet and eccentric Sheldon being played by anyone other than Jim Parsons. However, the actor came close to not bringing The Big Bang Theory’s iconic character to life because he was more than the show’s creators ever dreamed of finding, to the point that they didn’t believe it was possible and asked him to re-audition. When they met the actor, the excitement of thinking that he was made for the character gave way to doubts that it was just a stroke of luck that would not be repeated.
According to Brady, his first thought after seeing the audition was, “This is the guy.” Although for his partner Chuck Lorre the outlook did not look entirely hopeful because in his opinion he would never again achieve such a brilliant and perfect presentation. So both producers questioned the possible choice of Jim Parsons, a risk they should certainly be proud to have taken. Well, the program currently produces, just for its repetitions, about 1,500 million dollars.
