Jim Parsons says peak Big Bang fame left him miserable
The Emmy-winning actor said he was stressed during the sitcom’s biggest years and would not relive that period for any amount of money.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
Jim Parsons says the brightest years of “The Big Bang Theory” came with a private cost: he was miserable while the sitcom was riding high.
Parsons made the comments on the “All Out with Jon Dean” podcast, according to reports from People and Variety. Looking back at the show’s peak, the actor said that some of the most successful moments in his life were also marked by unhappiness.
“I look back now and realize that there were many ways, at some of the best moments of my life, I was miserable,” Parsons said on the podcast. “I was not happy. I was stressed.”
The actor, who played Sheldon Cooper, said he felt pressure to keep too many things going at once. He described believing at the time that the good things happening in his life were tied to constant work, discipline and strain.
Parsons said he could not fully judge whether that belief was accurate, because it was the way he was living then. But he made clear that, despite the hit show’s success, he would not choose to repeat the experience.
According to Variety, Parsons said he would not relive that chapter “for any amount of money.”
A famous role he is still learning to live with
Parsons also acknowledged that his connection to “The Big Bang Theory” remains part of his life. He said the role “is not going away,” and that since the series ended in 2019, he has been working on “changing my relationship to it.”
He said that relationship has continued to shift over time and has become healthier for him. Parsons also said that, in hindsight, he was not equipped for what came with the show’s level of attention.
“It’s evolving, and it gets better all the time,” Parsons said, according to Variety. “What I feel is better, what I feel is healthier.”
“The Big Bang Theory” ran from 2007 to 2019 for 279 episodes. The sitcom followed a group of socially awkward scientists and their more socially confident female neighbors.
Parsons starred alongside Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik.
The show became one of television’s defining sitcoms of its era and won 10 Emmy Awards during its run, according to Variety. Four of those Emmys went to Parsons for lead actor in a comedy.
His latest comments add a more complicated note to the legacy of a show that brought him major acclaim, long-term recognition and a character audiences still closely associate with him years after the finale.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.