The Big Bang Theory

Jim Parsons: General Information

James Joseph "Jim" Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American television and film actor best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with his performance often cited as a significant reason for the program's success. He has received several awards for his performance, including the Television Critics Association Award for the highest individual achievements in comedy, the National Association of Broadcasters Television Chairman's Award for a significant break-through in one or more specific art discipline, two consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy.

Jim Parsons: Early Life

Jim Parsons As Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory"

Jim Parsons was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the older of two children. After playing the role of the Kola-Kola bird in a school production of The Elephant's Child when he was six, Jim Parsons was determined to become an actor. As a child, Jim Parsons was heavily influenced by sitcoms, particularly Three's Company, Family Ties, and The Cosby Show. He attended Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas, a northern suburb of Houston. Jim Parsons points to a role in Noises Off his junior year as the first time "I fully connected with the role I was playing and started to truly understand what it meant to be honest on stage".

After graduating from high school, Jim Parsons received an undergraduate degree from the University of Houston. He was very prolific during this time, appearing in 17 plays in 3 years. He was a founding member of Infernal Bridegroom Productions, and regularly appeared at the Stages Repertory Theatre. In 1999, Jim Parsons left Houston to attend graduate school at the University of San Diego. He was one of seven students accepted into a special two-year course in classical theater, taught in partnership with the Old Globe Theater. The director of the program, Rick Seer, later recalled having reservations about admitting Jim Parsons. Rick Seer recalled that "Jim is a very specific personality. He's thoroughly original, which is one reason he's been so successful. But we worried, ‘Does that adapt itself to classical theater, does that adapt itself to the kind of training that we're doing?' But we decided that he was so talented that we would give him a try and see how it worked out." Jim Parsons enjoyed school, and told an interviewer that he would have pursued a doctorate in acting if possible. According to him, school "was so safe!...you frequently would surprise yourself by what you were capable of, and you were not surprised by some things." Jim Parsons graduated in 2001 and moved to New York.

Jim Parsons: Career

In New York, Jim Parsons worked in off Broadway productions and appeared several times on television. In a much talked-about Quiznos commercial in 2003, Parsons played a man who had been raised by wolves and continued to nurse from his wolf "mother". He had a recurring role on the television show Judging Amy and appeared on the television series Ed. Jim Parsons also had minor roles in several movies, including Garden State and School for Scoundrels.

Additionally, Jim Parsons auditioned for 15–30 television pilots. On the rare occasions when he was cast in the role, the show generally failed to be purchased by a television network. The exception came with The Big Bang Theory. After reading the pilot script, Jim Parsons felt that the role of Sheldon Cooper was a very good fit for him. Although Jim Parsons did not feel any sort of relationship with the character, he was enchanted by the dialogue structure. Jim Parsons was struck by the way the writers "brilliantly use those words that most of us don't recognize to create that rhythm. And the rhythm got me. It was the chance to dance through that dialogue, and in a lot of ways still is."

In his audition for the role, Jim Parsons impressed series creator Chuck Lorre so much that Chuck Lorre insisted on a second audition to see if Jim Parsons could replicate the performance. Jim Parsons was hired for the role and plays a genius physicist with nonexistent social skills who interacts with his other nerdy friends and the attractive waitress who lives across the hall. The role requires Jim Parsons to "rattle off line after line of tightly composed, rhythmic dialogue, and then do something with his face or body during the silence that follows." Jim Parsons credits his training at the University of San Diego with giving him the tools to break down Sheldon's lines.

Television critic Andrew Dansby compares Jim Parsons' physical comedy to that of Buster Keaton and other silent film stars. Lorre praises Jim Parsons' instincts, saying that "You can't teach that." Lorre describes Jim Parsons' "great sense of control over every part of his body, the way he walks, holds his hands, cocks his head, the facial tics" as "inspired". Reviewer Lewis Beale describes Jim Parsons' performance as "so spot-on, it seems as if the character and the actor are the same person." Jim Parsons admits that the work is "more effort than I ever thought a sitcom would take. And that's really the fun of it."

In August 2009, Jim Parsons won the Television Critics Association award for individual achievement in comedy, beating Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, and Neil Patrick Harris. He was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2009 and 2010, winning in 2010 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. In September 2010, Parsons and his co-stars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $200,000 per episode for the fourth season of The Big Bang Theory, with substantial raises for each of the next three seasons. The three were also promised a percentage of the show's earnings. In January, 2011 he won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy (the award was presented by co-star Kaley Cuoco).

In 2011, Parsons appeared with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Steve Martin and Rashida Jones in the comedy film The Big Year. It was released in October.

Jim Parsons As Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory"

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory"

Jim Parsons: Personal Life

Jim Parsons lives in Los Angeles. His hobbies include playing the piano and watching sports, especially tennis, baseball, and basketball.

<-- Jim Parsons as Caleb on iCarly

Source: www.wikipedia.org