Jim Parsons says Big Bang Theory fame left him stressed and unhappy
The actor told Jon Dean he was “miserable” during some career highs and now sees parts of his old work ethic as obsessive.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Jim Parsons says some of the brightest years of his career came with a private cost: stress, unhappiness and a work routine he no longer wants to live with.
The actor, who became a household name as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, spoke about that period on the YouTube podcast All Out with Jon Dean. Parsons is currently appearing on Broadway in Titanique.
In the conversation with British host Jon Dean, Parsons discussed fame, growing up gay and the strain of managing his personal life while his public profile was exploding. Dean and Parsons are both openly gay, according to Deadline.
Parsons told Dean that, looking back, some of the moments that should have felt like triumphs were emotionally difficult for him. “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. “I was not happy. I was stressed.”
Parsons describes a punishing work mindset
Parsons described his years on The Big Bang Theory as a period when he felt he had to keep too many responsibilities under control at once. He said he believed, at the time, that the good things happening in his life were tied to constant effort, discipline and overwork.
“Maybe to a degree that was true. I don’t know. I can’t say because that’s how I was,” he told Dean.
The actor said that approach appeared, from the outside, to be a strong work ethic. With distance, he now views much of it differently.
“It translated in part into a work ethic,” Parsons said, “but it was really just obsessive behavior basically.”
He added that he was disciplined and hardworking, but said much of that drive was “kind of OCD in nature.” Parsons said he carried a mental checklist of tasks he felt he had to complete before he could feel settled enough to do his job properly, a belief he now questions.
His Sheldon legacy is still with him
Parsons also addressed how closely he remains linked to Sheldon, the character he played across the run of The Big Bang Theory. The CBS sitcom ended seven years ago, but Parsons said the public connection has not disappeared.
According to Parsons, his relationship with Sheldon is changing over time. “It gets better all the time,” he said. “What I feel is better, what I feel is healthier.”
Parsons did not frame the experience as something he wishes had never happened. He told Dean that his present life is tied to those years, including the difficult parts.
“I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I hadn’t have had that time of life, and the somewhat self-tortured nature of it was part of it,” he said.
The interview, titled Jim Parsons: Robbed Of My Youth | Inside The Actor's Dressing Room, is available through Dean’s All Out with Jon Dean YouTube channel.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.