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.”
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“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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DCguy
Good for him, and glad he is finally out. I think a lot of times people are more grounded if success comes later. Fame coming early didn’t do Tara Reid or Lindsay Lohan any favors.
Nuttypea
What do you mean “finally”? He’s been Out out since like 2012.
DCguy
Yeah, and he’d been avoiding the topic for years before that. He is out, happy, etc… now.
cabe
Now that Jim is making $1 million per episode, I hope to God he is helping the cause a bit and donating HEAVILY to the ACLU or the HRC and other worthy causes. The gay community needs his financial support right about now to fight all of the anti-gay religious act nonsense about to come down.
JessPH
He’s perfect for the role of Sheldon. I cannot imagine any other actor playing that role.
DCguy
I don’t think the show would have been a success. It pretty much hinged on his character for the first several seasons, and even now, without him it’s just about the other group and they can’t carry a show.
Heywood Jablowme
Yes, they got lucky with Jim! I read that the show was originally pretty much a “vehicle” for Johnny Galecki, who Chuck Lorre knew from “Roseanne” days and thought would be good for a nerdy- scientist show. They were all maybe just hoping for a modest hit, 4 or 5 seasons, but with Jim in it they got a runaway classic.
Jack Meoff
What a great guy. Loved him in Hidden Figures. I hope he branches out into more movie roles in the future.
DCguy
He had a small but funny part in “The Normal Heart”.