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James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, Parsons played in the The Big Bang Theory. He has received various awards, including four Primetime 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. From 2015 to 2018, named him the world's highest-paid television actor.

Parsons made his debut portraying Tommy Boatwright in the play The Normal Heart (2011). He has since acted in the Broadway plays Harvey (2012), An Act of God (2015), The Boys in the Band (2018), (2024), and (2024).

In film, Parsons has voiced the lead character in Home (2015) and played supporting roles in (2016), A Kid Like Jake (2018), Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), The Boys in the Band (2020), and Spoiler Alert (2022). On television he was Emmy-nominated for playing Tommy Boatwright in the film The Normal Heart (2011) and in the series Hollywood (2020).


Early life and education
Parsons was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas, and was raised in one of its northern suburbs, Spring. He is the son of Milton Joseph "Mickey/Jack" Parsons Jr. and teacher Judy Ann (née McKnight). His sister, Julie Ann Parsons, is also a teacher."Who Do You Think You Are? TV episode; Sep 2013

After playing the role of the Kola-Kola bird in a school production of The Elephant's Child at age six, Parsons was determined to become an actor. He attended Klein Oak High School in Spring. Parsons points to a role in during 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." The young Parsons was heavily influenced by sitcoms, particularly Three's Company, , and The Cosby Show.

After graduating from high school, Parsons earned a BA degree in Theater from the University of Houston. He was prolific during this time, appearing in 17 plays in three years. He was a founding member of Infernal Bridegroom Productions and regularly appeared at the Stages Repertory Theatre. Parsons enrolled in graduate school at the University of San Diego in 1999. He was one of seven students accepted into a special two-year course in classical theater, taught in partnership with the Old Globe Theater. Program director Rick Seer recalled having reservations about admitting Parsons, saying, "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."

Parsons enjoyed his schooling so much, he told an interviewer that he would have pursued a doctorate in acting if possible: "School was so safe!.....You frequently would surprise yourself by what you were capable of, and you were not surprised by some things." Parsons graduated with an M.F.A. degree in acting from Old Globe Theatre/University of San Diego in 2001 and moved to New York.

Parsons traced his family's history on TLC's Who Do You Think You Are? in September 2013, and discovered French heritage from his father's side. The French architect Louis-François Trouard (1729–1804) is his sixth great-grandfather.


Career

2003–2006: Early roles
In New York, Parsons worked in productions and made several television appearances. In a 2003 commercial, 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 and appeared on the television series Ed. Parsons also had minor roles in several movies, including Garden State and School for Scoundrels.


2007–2019: The Big Bang Theory and theatre roles
Parsons has estimated that he auditioned for between 15 and 30 television pilots, but on many of the occasions when he was cast, the show failed to find a television network willing to purchase it. The exception came with The Big Bang Theory. After reading the pilot script, Parsons felt that the role of would be a very good fit for him. Although he did not feel any sort of relationship with the character, he was enchanted by the dialogue structure, 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, Parsons impressed series creator , who insisted on a second audition to see if Parsons could replicate the performance. Parsons was cast as Sheldon Cooper, a physicist with social apathy who frequently belittles his friends. The role required Parsons to "rattle off line after line of tightly composed, rhythmic dialogue, as well as then do something with his face or body during the silence that follows." Parsons credits his University of San Diego training with giving him the tools to Sheldon's lines.

Television critic Andrew Dansby compares Parsons's physical comedy to that of and other silent film stars. Lorre praises Parsons' instincts, saying that "You can't teach that." Lorre describes 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 Parsons' performance as "so spot-on, it seems as if the character and the actor are the same person." 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, Parsons won the Television Critics Association award for individual achievement in comedy, beating , , , and Neil Patrick Harris. Parsons was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, winning in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In September 2010, Parsons and co-stars and 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, Parsons won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy. From August 2013, Parsons, Cuoco and Galecki each earned $325,000 per episode.Battaglio, Stephen; Schneider, Michael (August 26, 2013). "What They Earn". . pp. 16 - 20. In August 2014, Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco once again signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $1 million per episode for the eighth, ninth, and tenth seasons of The Big Bang Theory, as well as quadrupling their percentage of the show's earnings to over 1% each.

In 2011, Parsons appeared with , , , and in the comedy film The Big Year. It was released in October. That same year, he appeared as the human alter ego of Walter, the newest Muppet introduced in The Muppets. On May 18, 2012, Parsons began appearing on Broadway as Elwood P. Dowd in a revival of Harvey. He reprised the role in The Normal Heart (2014), and he received his seventh Emmy nomination, this time in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Parsons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 11, 2015. He voiced Oh, one of the lead roles in the DreamWorks Animation comedy film Home (2015), alongside .

Parsons and Todd Spiewak founded That's Wonderful Productions in 2015 with the intention of raising distinct voices and producing work with an underlying sense of purpose and social consciousness. Their work includes Special, Equal, Call Me Kat and A Kid Like Jake. Parsons and Spiewak are also Executive Producers of . On January 29, 2015, it was announced that Parsons would star as God in the Broadway production of An Act of God, a new play by and directed by . The play began previews at Studio 54 on May 5, 2015 and closed August 2, 2015, to positive reviews. In 2016, Jim Parsons played a supporting role as STG (special task group) head engineer Paul Stafford in the biographical drama film . The film was directed by , who had previously worked with Parsons in commercials for .

In 2017, Parsons started hosting his own SiriusXM talk show, Jim Parsons Is Too Stupid for Politics. The show ran for six weeks. In August 2018, Parsons announced his refusal of a contract worth $50 million for seasons 13 and 14 of The Big Bang Theory. The producers simultaneously announced that, after 279 episodes, the most of any multi-camera series in TV history, the show would come to an "epic, creative close" in May 2019. Parsons was expected to remain in his role as narrator of the prequel series, . In 2018, Parsons was one of the actors who voiced the audiobook A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. Parsons starred as party host Michael in the 50th anniversary Broadway production of The Boys in the Band, which won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, reprising his performance (with the whole Broadway anniversary cast) in the 2020 film adaptation.


2020–present: Return to theatre
In 2020, he portrayed in the Ryan Murphy limited series Hollywood on . He also served as an executive producer. For his performance he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In 2022 he portrayed in the romantic comedy Spoiler Alert distributed by . He acted in the revival of 's A Man of No Importance at the Classic Stage Company. He starred in 's new play (2024) acting alongside and Celia Keenan-Bolger. He is set to star as the Stage Manager in the revival of the play at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.


Personal life
Parsons lives in the New York City neighborhood while also maintaining a residence in Los Angeles.

His father died in a car crash on April 29, 2001 when Parsons was 28.

On May 23, 2012, an article in The New York Times noted that Parsons is and had been in a relationship for the last ten years. His husband is art director Todd Spiewak. In October 2013, Parsons called their relationship "an act of love, coffee in the morning, going to work, washing the clothes, taking the dogs out—a regular life, boring love". Parsons and Spiewak wed in New York in May 2017.

Parsons supported Democratic candidate in the run-up for the 2016 United States presidential election.


Acting credits

Film
2003Happy EndCasting Assistant
2004Garden StateTim
2005HeightsOliver
2005Justin
2005SidneyShort film
200610 Items or LessReceptionist
2006School for ScoundrelsClassmate
2007On the Road with JudasJimmy Pea
2007Gardener of EdenSpim
2011Crane
2011Human WalterCameo
2012Sunset StoriesPrince
2014Wish I Was HerePaul
2015HomeOhVoice
2015VisionsDr. Mathison
2016Paul Stafford
2018A Kid Like JakeGreg WheelerAlso producer
2019Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and VileLarry Simpson
2020The Boys in the BandMichael
2022Spoiler AlertAlso producer
2025Animal FarmSnowballVoice


Television
2002EdChetEpisode: "The Road"
2004–2005Rob Holbrook7 episodes
2007–2019Main role
2009, 2012Sheldon Cooper / Gay-Jacker (voice)2 episodes
2010Glenn Martin, DDSDraven (voice)Episode: "Jackie's Get-Witch-Quick Scheme"
2011Nightmare (voice)Episode: "Blind Rage Knows No Color!"
2011Pound PuppiesMilton Feltwaddle (voice)2 episodes A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
2011CalebEpisode: "iLost My Mind"
2011EurekaCarl the Jeep (voice)Episode: "Do You See What I See"
2012Henry Applesauce (voice)Episode: "Generic Holiday Special"
2012Larry Wilder (voice)Episode: "Jock Wilder's Nature Camp"
2013Who Do You Think You Are?HimselfSeason 4; Episode 8
2014Saturday Night LiveHostEpisode: "Jim Parsons/"
2014The Normal HeartTommy BoatwrightTelevision film
2014Buddy (voice)Television special
2016Mr. Skibumpers (voice)Episode: "SuperMansion: War on Christmas"
2017Michael Jackson's HalloweenHay Man (voice)Television film
2017–2024Sheldon Cooper (voice)Narrator; also executive producer (live-action in "Memoir")
2019–2021Special Executive producer
2020Himself (voice)Episode: ""
2020HollywoodMain role; also executive producer
2021HimselfEpisode: "The Warthog and the Mongoose: Part Two"
2021–2023Call Me Kat Executive producer


Theatre
1993Torturer (Arthur)
1994Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are DeadRosencrantz
1995La RondeAlfred
1995EndgameClovInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1995Marat/SadeSteveInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1996Guys and DollsRusty CharlieInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1996Eddie Goes to Poetry CityEddieZocalo Theatre
1996Jack and the Future Is in EggsJack
1996Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1996Suicide in B-flatPetroneInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1996Doctor / Horse's HeadInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1997The Cherry OrchardYashaInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1997Chili QueenBuddyStages Repertory Theatre
1997Camino RealBaronInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1997Last RitesTiger CleanInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1998The Threepenny OperaMacHeathInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1998Below the BeltDobbitt
1998In the Jungle of the CitiesJ.Infernal Bridegroom Productions
1998Tamalalia 3: The Cocktail PartyPsychotic psychiatristInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1998King Ubu is KingTom, Mister Nice GuyInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1998The Pitchfork DisneyPresley StrayStages Repertory Theatre
1999Marie and BruceHerb / Fred / WaiterInfernal Bridegroom Productions
1999Tamalalia 4: The Camp-OutRalfInfernal Bridegroom Productions
2001DaYoung CharlieOld Globe Theatre
2002What Happened WasJackieThe Paradise Theatre
2001The CastleJeremiahManhattan Ensemble Theatre
2002ValèreLa Jolla Playhouse
2004The Love for Three Oranges (Gozzi)Prince TartagliaLa Jolla Playhouse
2011The Normal HeartTommy BoatwrightJohn Golden Theatre
2012HarveyElwood DowdStudio 54
2015An Act of GodGodStudio 54
2018The Boys in the BandMichael
2022A Man of No ImportanceAlfie ByrneClassic Stage Company
2024CarlHelen Hayes Theatre
2024Stage ManagerEthel Barrymore Theatre


Video games
2010NightmareVoice


Awards and nominations

See also
  • LGBT culture in New York City
  • List of LGBT people from New York City


External links

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