Never say never

Here’s why Jim Parsons is glad success didn’t come until later in life

There was a time when Jim Parsons wasn’t wading in idiotic amounts of money.

Prior to his success with The Big Bang Theory — for which he earns roughly $1 million per episode — he was demonstrably poor, performing in the occasional Off-Broadway show and TV commercial.

Related: The Way Jim Parsons Met His Partner Is Unforgivably Cute And Makes Us Angry

“There was plenty of time for unemployment,” he tells The Today Show. “There was plenty of time at the Coinstar cashing in for a night out.”

“I am grateful though that a success like the TV show didn’t happen until I was in my 30s. I had met Todd (Spiewack), my partner, long before that.”

Once he began working on The Big Bang Theory, he knew his life was forever changed.

“I remember distinctly saying, ‘You’ve been living in purgatory and kind of hanging around… and it could be a very life-changing thing that’s about to happen.”

Related: Jim Parsons Was So Happy To Be Outed

The show didn’t hit number one until its fourth season, which gave Parsons and his cast-mates time to get used to fame:

“By the time we were getting recognized in the streets, we had a few seasons under our belt … you felt like, “Well we have something that we can rely on. We know what we’re doing.'”

The cast is currently in negotiations for the 11th and 12th season of the unavoidable show.

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