The Big Bang Theory took its toll on its star

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory Photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS

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Jim Parsons made millions of viewers laugh while starring on The Big Bang Theory, but the actor says his role as Sheldon Cooper took an emotional toll on him. During an interview on the All Out with Jon Dean podcast, he reflected on his time on the CBS sitcom.

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“I look back now and realize that there were many ways, at some of the best moments of my life, I was miserable,” he said on the July 13 episode, per People. “I was not happy. I was stressed.”

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The Big Bang Theory aired 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019 and earned 10 Emmy Awards. Parsons won four of them, dominating the category of outstanding lead actor in a comedy series.

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“I felt that there was so many plates I was supposed to be keeping in the air and that the success and the good things of life that were happening were only due to this overworking … discipline and whatever,” he said on the podcast. “Maybe to a degree that was true. I don’t know. I can’t say because that’s how I was.”

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Parsons added, “I wouldn’t do that again and for any amount of money … it was stressful and miserable at times. I made myself miserable.”

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The host then asked if it was only his work ethic that made him miserable, and Parsons admitted that there were other internal factors.

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“It translated in part into a work ethic, but it was really just obsessive behaviour basically,” he said. “Yes, I was disciplined. Yes, I had a good work ethic, but a lot of it was because it was kind of OCD in nature.

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“I had a list of things basically in my head that I had to get done in order to be comfortable and know that I could do my job right, which I don’t think was true.”

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Because of that, the actor, 53, said he missed out on “tons of life.” But now that the show has been off the air for years, his relationship to it has changed.

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“It’s evolving, and it gets better all the time. What I feel is better, what I feel is healthier,” he said.

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Parsons starred on The Big Bang Theory alongside Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik. He was also the narrator and an executive producer of its prequel spinoff, Young Sheldon, which ended in 2024.

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Parsons has kept busy with various projects in recent years, including producing the Fox sitcom Call Me Kat, appearing in the Netflix miniseries Hollywood, and starring in theatre productions such as The Boys in the Band. He’s currently in the cast of the Broadway jukebox musical Titanique.

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