Penny and Sheldon

The Big Bang boom by Libby Slate

You've got to love a sitcom whose lead characters, Sheldon and Leonard, are named for an iconic comedy actor-producer, (that would be Sheldon Leonard).
And audiences do love The Big Bang Theory, sticking with the CBS Monday night show its first season through the writers' strike and this year, voting it the People's Choice Award as favorite television comedy.
The industry loves it too, Big Bang won last year's Television Critics Association Award for outstanding achievement in comedy and was named one of the most outstanding television programs of 2009 by the american Film Institute. Also, Jim Parsons was nominated for a 2009 primetime emmy Award as outstanding lead actor in a comedy.
The show about Caltech physicists Sheldon Cooper (Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), their scientist friends Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) and aspiring actress-neighbor Penny No-last-name-mentioned (Kaley Cuoco), regularly scores as the most-watched comedy among adults eighteen to forty-nine and twenty-five to fifty-four and number two comedy among viewers overall.
For Chuck Lorre, co-creator executive producer with Bill Prady, the show stands apart from his previous creations (grace under fire, Cybill, Two and a half men), because, he says "There's a wonderful innocence to these characters. That's a very different element in a half-hour comedy. It's inviting. The guys have a naiveté that's really charming."
As for the entire cast, "they bring joy and enthusiasm to the work," Lorre says.
"They're a very supportive ensemble. There's a sense of community that shows up on- and off-camera."
That community showed up at a recent photoshoot at the Pentahouse of the Residences at W Hollywood. No divas here, despite the hips surroundings and cool threads — just the good friends getting the job done amid occasional chitchat and the display of a new iPad. After all, says iPad owner Cuoco the photo-shoot glam "isn't the real world."
Sounds like Penny is just as smart as the guys.

Growing up in Houston Jim Parsons wanted to be a meteorologist. "I'm still intigued by the drama of the natural occourrence of hurricanes," he says. "I lived on the Gulf Coast, and when Alicia was coming, I literally felt she was gaining strenght - she knew where she was going, and we were left."
He decided instead to find his drama on stage as a theater major, helping to establish a nonprofit theater company while still in college and later earning a graduate degree in theater.
So perhaps it's not such a stretch that he's now playing a different kind of scientist - or maybe it is. Asked what's funny about physics Parsons responded: "It certainly hadn't crossed my mind that there's anything funny about physics. To find something amusing, you have find something you understand - and with physics, I'm still baffled."
But even that state of being is helpful when it comes to portraying Sheldon, an individual with no sense of humor or irony. "It speaks to that disconnect that Sheldon has, an extreme disconnect from human emotion," Parsons adds. "It's very fun to play in the extremes of this character, to focus so wholeheartedly on it. I admire that dogged focus, but not to the point of ignoring emotion and empathy."
Parsons expresses his own emotions playing piano. He's also an avid baseball, tennis and basketball fan. Enacting such an extreme character is actually liberating, he notes, in part for his respect for the Big Bang writers, nurtured by his theater experience.
"The older I get, the more I love language," says the actor whose other credits include a recurring role on Judging Amy and the features Garden State, Heights and On the road with Judas. "I had it knocked into my skull early on to be faithful to the writer - not only the word, but the periods, the commas. By letting the writing be my guidepost. I feel very free to make choices."
His choices landed Parsons his first Primetime Emmy nomination last year. "It was unexpected. I hadn't imagined what it would be like," he reflects. "You felt like a sense of camaraderie that I never would understood before. It was fun - it had a celebratory aspect to it. It was such an exciting time."

Kaley Cuoco got a glimpse of sitcom fame early in her career, when she played actress Maureen McCormick in the television film Growing up Brady. Nowadays, Cuoco is making her own comedy mark as Penny, an aspiring actress and Cheesecake Factory waitress who lives across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard.
Despite her native southern California-blonde good looks and avid male fan following, she's fiercely protective of the guys in Penny's life. "They're not nerds," she insists. "They're not aware of the social side of life. Penny's brought them out in the world - even Sheldon's become more socialized."
Cuoco, an alumn of the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules, is also grateful for the viewers' embrace: "This show is so special to certain people - they live and breathe it. We all know it. That the fans have stuck by us."
A nationally ranked amateur tennis player in her teens, the actress now shows and jumps her three horses.
"They keep me grounded. When you're on one of these animals, you can't think of anything else." She's ready for her charater to try a new skill, as well. "I think Penny should work at a Sushi restaurant and have to dress like a geisha," she offers. "I have the idea that she happens to be a genius sushi maker."

'Big Bang Theory': Jim Parsons talks William Shatner, Twitter and Mayim Bialik as Sheldon's love interest by Korbi Ghosh

Sheldon Cooper is getting a love interest.

Sort of.

This Monday (May 24), during the third season finale of "The Big Bang Theory," Raj and Wolowitz will apparently set Sheldon up with an online dating profile.

His match? The female version of himself, played by former "Blossom" star Mayim Bialik.

Jim Parsons was cool enough to talk to Korbi TV about what we can expect from that.

Other topics covered?

His short-lived Twitter experience, "BBT"'s timeslot move from Mondays to Thursdays as well as CBS's newest star, William Shatner...

You did a bit with Shatner in New York last week?

Jim Parsons: (Laughs) Yes. Upfronts are a special time that make for strange bedfellows, aren't they? That being said, it really wasn't that strange at all, both topic-wise — 'cause I'm on a show that's obsessed with "Star Trek" and I'm playing a character who is especially [enthralled] — and person-to-person-wise, he's so delightful. It sounds stupid — everyone knows this — but there's something so charming about him. You know, I had to do this thing where I ran up and hugged him. As Sheldon. And I met him and he goes, "You're Jim." And I was like, uh, yes, hello, I'm about to have to hug you. And he said, "Um, okay, just not too hard." And I went, okay!

Yeah, he's funny on Twitter.

He really does Twitter?

Oh, yes... unless it's someone doing it for him.

No, no. I have no doubt that it's him. I just — I'm so bad at it. See, this is why I enjoyed working with him ever so briefly. We're a yin and a yang, you know what I mean?

You don't want to start tweeting?

No! No, no, no. I tried. I tried for two days and it did not work out.

[Your "BBT" costar] Kunal [Nayyar] can help you, he's all about it.

If I did tweet, it would not be in the vein of a Kunal tweet, let me get that straight right now... Do you Tweet?

I do, but it's a work thing. I doubt I'd be on Twitter were it not a part of my job.

Well, that's what I mean, we tried to make mine about work. It wasn't like I was trying to connect with old high school friends. It was my publicist's [idea]. She was like, you might want to think about opening a Twitter account and so I did and then I closed it within 48 hours.

But I'm sure you got thousands of followers in that 48 hours.

I didn't, which is only [proof] of how bad I was at it. I didn't even know how to access people to say, I'm here!

I wonder if Twitter is something Sheldon would do.

I don't know, it's very social, you know?

Yeah. But somewhat removed at the same time.

That's true. And you can do Sheldon-speak, if you will, in any form. Sheldon's Tweets would just be more obscure and out of the norm. So, yes, he could Tweet. And he would think he was an excellent Tweeter probably. Most people wouldn't understand them and those that did would be like, why are you utilizing this thing for that?

I can see him coming up with a lot of material that makes himself laugh.

A big Bazinga ring, yes.

And if you were on Twitter, you could tweet the news. Like the fact that 'Big Bang' is moving to Thursdays, which is kind of crazy.

It's very crazy. I feel very optimistic about it. Especially now. When I first heard, [I wasn't so sure]. I'm just like anybody else, change of any sort is simply uncomfortable when it first occurs. I saw our new schedule on Nikki Finke's website — I'm not too proud to admit it — and I tell you, I really kept staring at it going, What?! I guess it had just never crossed my mind [as a possibility]. But the more I've thought about it and talked with everyone else about it, the more [I've gotten used to it]. I feel partially excited. I hope that it's a great thing, because if it is a great thing, we'd be opening up that hour of comedy for [the network] and it would be so exciting to be a part of that new night. We've always been treated very well by CBS and this [move] shows a lot of confidence in us, so it'll be good, whatever happens. And I also think that there couldn't be a better pairing [for "Big Bang Theory"] than the new William Shatner show. Not only because it's Shatner, but because it's an idea that came from the world of Twitter, there's something to it.

We have to talk about the season finale. So many of your fans have been obsessed with the idea of Sheldon getting a love interest for some time. I don't know if you would describe Mayim's character as a love interest exactly, but she's certainly the closest thing to it so far, no?

Oh, without a doubt. But emotionally — if you will — where it will lead in future episodes, I have no clue. Two reasons: Number one, the meeting is so brief. It's like, that's really what happens, they just meet. And I don't even want to say that there's a spark, but there is something that [takes Sheldon from thinking], "This is not worth my time" to "Maybe this conversation could continue." But what that [something] is, I don't know. And I don't know if [the writers] know! I don't know if Episode One of next year is already building in their minds and they know where this is headed or what, you know. But the beauty of working like this is I do feel like so much is organically happening. They propose ideas and they execute them and then they are performed and the audience watches them and they go from there. They can say, I like how this is going. This is not what I thought was happening, but we're going to go this track with it. I think that's really how the birth of one of my favorite things about the show happened, which is the one-on-one scenes between Sheldon and Penny. In one way, that was just going to happen, because there's five people on the show. But I really feel like the relationship that's developed between [our characters] was not something that anyone could've guessed would have the depth that I think it does. You know, it was only after throwing out a scene or two here and there that [we discovered] that there was something about [the dynamic] that was really fun to investigate. And the only reason I bring that up is because it's like, will this thing with me and Mayim [go somewhere great as well]? Who knows!

What was the chemistry like during the one scene that you did do?

Well, on a person-to-person basis, I had a great time being with her. You know, I let it sit for the first couple days of rehearsal and then right before taping, I probably still shouldn't have, but I did look at her and say, "Now, do you know exactly what's going on?" And she said no and I said, "Good, I just wanted to make sure, because I don't either." So we were both extremely honest with each other, which is always pretty delightful. As a character thing, so far, what's been briefly shown, she seems to be as obtuse in nailing down what's going through that heart as Sheldon is. So that's part of what led to the confusion of "what is this scene?" because it was basically two characters going, "Wha- Huh?" You know, what are the feelings behind these words that you're saying? So, from what little I know of her character at this point, it's that she certainly seems to have that in common with Sheldon.

Would you like to see Mayim back in the fall and see it go somewhere?

Oh, judging from that one episode with her, I would love to. As a person, I loved having her around on the set and I always feel game for exploring these things that the writers throw out there.

Big Bang’s Jim Parsons teaches us the science of Sheldon by Matt Mitovich

That Jim Parsons does not yet have an Emmy planted on his mantle is as stupefying as, well, any of the physics equations ‘The Big Bang Theory’s set dressers scrawl on Sheldon and Leonard’s white boards. Who else could make someone so arrogant and insufferable so hilarious and loveable? On the occasion of Monday’s ‘Big Bang’ season finale (9:30/8:30c, CBS), Fancast invited Parsons to explain to us the science behind his creation of fiction as well as analyze the season-ending “romance” that some fans aren’t in love with.

Is it safe to say that Sheldon had a few drinks before speaking to the crowd at CBS’ upfront presentation last week?

No, but isn’t that funny? It crossed my mind, “Is that how it should be played?”

How long did you get to live with that ad-speak-heavy script?

Forty-eight hours. It was a harrowing experience. TelePrompTer reading is an art unto itself — especially if you’re used to theater or whatever, where your instinct is to naturalize everything and the exact opposite of that is to have an audience feel you’re reading something to them. That’s the beast we were dealing with.

What’s funny is that just as media types began tweeting that an opportunity was missed to have Sheldon meet “Captain Kirk,” with William Shatner also in the house… we in fact got that moment. Whose idea was that?

I completely didn’t think about that, and then somebody said to me they’d planned something. I was like, “I’d love to!” But I was nervous. I had never even met him before, and the first thing we do is share an embrace? But he is absolutely as charming and fun as he appears to be.

On a related note: Although Leonard Nimoy has announced his retirement from acting, I would think that if anyone can get him to do a cameo, [Big Bang' creator] Bill Prady can.

I would hope so, and I happen to agree with you. I think that Bill has some persuasive powers. And whether it would tug at [Nimoy's] heartstrings or not, we have certainly acted out a love letter to him over these years.

What did you enjoy learning about Sheldon this season?

What I enjoyed most of all was the flashback episode [that aired May 17]. We would rehearse the show for a week and they were forever telling me, “Go further back with Sheldon,” to highlight the effect that having someone like Leonard in his life has done for him, making him a more social creature. He had less eye contact with other people….

Yeah, it was like “Extreme Sheldon.”

Exactly. Like “Sheldon 2.0? — or “Negative 2.0.” That has been my favorite thing this year.

Brilliance in physics aside, how is Jim Parsons different from Sheldon?

I am so clueless about so many of Sheldon’s interests. That’s one of the reasons the Shatner connection didn’t occur to me. I don’t live in the world of graphic novels and comic books and ‘Star Trek,’ and I do not typically have trouble talking to people. Sheldon seems to lack empathy, if you will, while I take pains to understand where a person is coming from. Such things to Sheldon are over his head, under his head, to the side of his head….

As an actor, what’s the furthest you’ve ever gone from Sheldon?

I was once in ‘Wait Until Dark,’ the [Frederick Knott] play that was made into a movie starring Audrey Hepburn as a blind woman held hostage by this man (played by Alan Arkin), and that’s who I was. Your instinct is to think how different [a madman and Sheldon] are, and yet they’re both so smart. ['Wait Until Dark's Roat] was very conniving and able to work out the intricacies of a criminal situation, but he was also able to use his language and actions to frighten and elicit emotion out of people in a bad way. It was communication purely to elicit fear.

In the ‘Big Bang Theory’ season finale, Mayim Bialik (’Blossom’) is introduced as a love interest for Sheldon. That has some fans worried about bidding adieu to his asexuality, which they adore so.

Ok, I hear that. I will tell you that I can completely put those fears to rest, certainly for the finale. It is the most obscure, most un-pin-down-able meeting of two people you can ever imagine, a real ‘What’s going on?’ moment. To say that sparks fly would be to oversell it to the nth degree. In true Sheldon fashion it is not a “Love has arrived” moment. At one point I even asked Mayim, “Do you feel like you really know what’s going on here?” and she goes, “No.” I said, “Neither do I, so perfect.”

Whose acting do you admire?

Oh my god…. Tons of people….

Ok, let me rephrase it this way: Who, if their name is above the title, compels you to see a film?

I’ve been really fond lately of Robert Downey Jr. He personifies for me that wonderful combination of interesting choices, interesting ways of dealing with a script and his part, and being utterly honest at the same time. One of the things I enjoy about our show is we’re not trying to do comedy with a wink and nudge. It’s hopefully always humor born of honest awkward moments and misunderstandings.

CBS surprised many when they announced last week that ‘Big Bang Theory’ would move to Thursdays this fall. What was your very first reaction?

That change is incredibly hard. Like any human being, I look at change and I feel scared at first. But as I live with the information… I feel very optimistic about it. I eventually thought, “If this works out, it will be very exciting to open up a new comedy segment for CBS.” CBS has always treated us very well and shown confidence in us. [Pauses] But it’s weird! It’s weird to not be on Monday night. This is our fourth time slot in four seasons. But knock on wood, their track record has worked out very well.

Jim Parsons is a big hit on 'The Big Bang Theory' by Frazier Moore

Playing Sheldon Cooper isn't rocket science. Nor, for that matter, is it theoretical physics, Sheldon's chosen field as the science virtuoso of "The Big Bang Theory."

So says Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon on that hit CBS sitcom.

"It's all right there in the script," Parsons insists. "I'm not trying to eschew credit or be falsely modest, but there's a part of me that feels like I didn't come up with anything. For me, for the most part, it's very clear: It's the words."

Fans of "Big Bang" (which airs Mondays at 9:30 p.m. EDT) might take issue with Parsons' self-appraisal, particularly after spending a cordial, non-Sheldony interview session with him. Granted, most people don't use the word "eschew" in everyday discourse, but for the most part, Parsons strikes a pleasingly impressive contrast to his sitcom alter ego, who happens to be socially challenged, nerdy, high-strung, blunt-spoken and beyond the pale in his devotion to science.

Parsons, on the other hand, has tried and given up understanding physics, is cheery and unassuming, and has a twinkle in his eye as he talks about the show. At 6-foot-2 and a young-looking 37, he shares Sheldon's lankiness, but not the uptight manner or Sheldon's goofy-sounding "gotcha!" substitute: "bazinga!"

All in all, it's an object lesson in his skill as an actor.

"Big Bang," concluding its third season this month, places Sheldon in a familiar sitcom premise: He shares an apartment with friend and fellow brainy CalTech scientist Leonard Hofstadter (played by Johnny Galecki, "Roseanne"). Geeky research chums Howard (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh (Kunal Nayyar) drop by with comically timed frequency.

And across the hall, by sitcom good fortune, resides Penny, a lovely blonde played by Kaley Cuoco ("8 Simple Rules") who aspires to be an actress but pays the rent by waiting tables at a Cheesecake Factory. She is notably not a genius.

If this thumbnail description sounds a bit by-the-book, Parsons wouldn't disagree.

"I said it from the beginning: From the description, some people are going to say, 'I don't care. I don't want to watch two nerds and their pretty neighbor.'"

Happily, "The Big Bang Theory" began life as much more. Then, under the tutelage of sitcom maestro Chuck Lorre ("Two and a Half Men") it continued to grow.

The creative evolution of the show might be framed in the same terms with which Sheldon received Penny's greeting, "How ya been?"

"Well," said Sheldon, literal as ever, "my existence is a continuum, so I've been what I am at each point in the implied time period."

Turns out, there was a point in Parsons' career continuum when even he wasn't sure how he felt about the show.

A Houston native who had had a recurring role on "Judging Amy" and appeared in films including "Garden State" and "School for Scoundrels," he arrived to audition for Sheldon having no clear reaction to the show overall.

He only knew from the script that he wanted to play Sheldon. "I wanted the chance to talk this weird way that he talks, and this odd way he communicates with people."

Bazinga! The role as this head-in-the-clouds science savant was his.

"Leonard wants to reach out and be part of the normal world. But Sheldon doesn't see the point, and in fact thinks the farther you can stay away from it, the better your work's going to be," Parsons sums up.

Meanwhile, Penny is sufficiently astute to find things to like in both these guys, eccentricities and all. She has the insight to appreciate their mental capacity, however far it might loom beyond her reach.

So does Parsons, by the way.

"They're not just nerds, they're not just geeks. They are geniuses! They're beautiful minds," he declares. "And I've come to find that, for me as an actor, playing Sheldon opens up anything. Things that he would think of, ways that he would act — anything's possible for me. It's very freeing."

The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons on Twitter, parakeets, and Star Trek by Michelle Kung

During a panel at the Paley Center in Manhattan earlier this week, Jim Parsons — who plays uber-nerd Dr. Sheldon Cooper on CBS’s popular sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” — shocked the audience when he revealed that (gasp) he hadn’t seen any of the “Star Trek” movies. He also shared that, yes, he meticulously memorizes all of his jargon-heavy dialogue (even what he doesn’t understand) and relies on YouTube to help give him context about some of the famous sci-fi in-jokes his character utters (like Admiral Ackbar’s “It’s a trap!” from “Return of the Jedi”).

Both Judy Greer and Mayim Bialik (of “Blossom” fame) will be guest-starring as female eggheads this month. Are the writers determined to give Sheldon a girlfriend?

Judy plays a scientist that Sheldon’s invited to stay at the apartment, and she’s very similar to him on first blush. However, he quickly realizes she’s much more in touch with using her sexuality than he is, and his opinion of her drops from peer to just ordinary. Mayim’s character is much closer to matching Sheldon’s personality. They’re not mirror images, but they’re certainly talking at each other. I say this – because their meeting in the finale episode is so brief — I literally do not know where that scene is going. It’s the final scene and we only exchange four lines, so I guess it’s our version of a cliffhanger. The intent, I think is to carry over the story to next year, but your guess is as good as mine.

Bill Prady, one of the show’s Executive Producers, is an avid Twitter user, and frequently tweets with fans when each episode airs.

No one has a grip on these actual characters more than Bill does. A lot of that comes from his experience [as a computer programmer]. As such, he just knows as well as anybody why these geniuses are saying what they’re saying. I would be horrible at Twitter. I wouldn’t know the answer to fans’ questions half the time — and the patience involved! I couldn’t imagine. I did have a Twitter account that I tried for a couple days, but found I had nothing to say. There are some interesting facts I could share, but I don’t want to share that part of myself.

For your first major acting role since starting “The Big Bang Theory,” you’ve signed up for “The Big Year,” a comedy about three birdwatchers (played by Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black) trying to spot as many species as they can in one year.

I grew up with two different parakeets — one that lived for five years, and one that lived for 13 years — so I always had a bit of an attraction to birds and it’s an oddly good fit to be in a movie about birdwatchers. When my agents first told me there was this movie about birders, I didn’t understand what that meant and thought they were actually saying bowlers. I ended up reading for two parts, neither of which I ended up getting, but they handed me another role: I’m going to play a birdwatcher who runs an aviary blog.

Given the success of the show, are you being offered more parts in films and other projects?

I want to say no, but it’s hard for me to judge because I’m not going in on more auditions. My hiatus timeline is so minimal, there’s only a select number of projects that I can go in for. I feel we did made more of a push this year. I’m a little sick in that regard because I enjoy going in and auditioning. There are also situations where you’re taking meetings, but I never know what to say that’s going to make them want to cast me. Though I could imagine things I could say for them not to want to cast me. Honestly, I’d rather just audition.

Is your current gig what you were expecting when you first moved to L.A.?

When I first started out in Houston, it was theater or bust. And I loved it. I still love it. And then I went to undergraduate and graduate school for acting. My choices in projects have all been character or role-based, and on a financial level, it’s obvious: as an actor on a TV series, I get a wonderful paycheck, and a consistent paycheck, which doesn’t always happen when you’re doing theater or movies. Both are hard in their own ways. Theater doesn’t pay as much and your show will come to an end, and nothing’s for sure in movies, unless you’re a huge star. Any money I’m making now, I’m trying to be frugal with it. Though when I was living in New York, I was fighting for the paycheck and I even enjoyed that to a certain degree. I don’t miss cashing unemployment checks and am not stupid enough to say that, but yes, to a degree, I enjoy the rat race aspect of it.

More bang for your buck by Angel Cohn

We like to think that we love all of the delightfully geeky brainiacs on The Big Bang Theory equally, but when the chance to talk to Jim Parsons came about, we got a bit giddy. Parsons is the Emmy-nominated actor who charmingly brings the neurotically nerdy Sheldon to life every week. We thought we'd get to chat about his chances of getting nominated again this year, find out what he thinks of the Sheldon/Penny shippers and maybe even get some dish on the last few episodes of the season — all of which we eventually did. But first the conversation took a bizarre turn after some bicoastal confusion and a shared suffering of motion sickness. Note: You probably will want to change your seat if you are flying with either of us.

Thanks for chatting with me today. I really am quite a fan of your show.

I've met you in person before. Right? Or is that not true?

No. I don't get out to California frequently and I don't really like to fly much.

Well, that's okay. I don't think the jet-setting life is really for most people.

Yes, I get motion sickness, and I read that you do as well.

Oh, awful. It's horrible! I'm normally pretty good on a plane. What's tricky about the plane, for me, is really the runway part, because it's impossible — actually, I'm getting a little sick thinking about it right now — but you know what I mean? Even if you're looking out the window, it's really confusing. And then turbulence makes me ill. The good thing is — I should knock on wood — I don't get scared during turbulence, like, I don't have those weird thoughts. I've never puked during turbulence, though.

Consider yourself very lucky.

Isn't that the worst feeling, though? There's nothing like it. And I feel like I'm on the verge of being able to control it, but then I can't. I'm like, "I feel like I can almost stop this from happening within me!" because it's such a weird sensation, like nothing else. But then I can't! It's out of control. Then you can take Dramamine, but then you don't wake up. You just sleep through whatever it is. I want to enjoy the part that I'm not sick through, not just be dead through it.

I usually sleep... Anyway, on a more pleasant note, congratulations on how the show's doing. And Emmy time is getting near — are you getting nervous/excited about whether you're going to get nominated again?

Oh God, no! I'm not nervous or excited. I think I purposely try to keep any feeling out of it. It always comes up, though. You can't avoid thinking about it. Now, I became a member of the Academy [of Television Arts and Sciences], so today I received my first "For Your Consideration" screener, and so that will be a constant reminder that the time is coming up, and never mind the fact that between the studio and your own publicist, you do sort of make you own little push, if you're gonna do it at all. So things will be timed to Emmy consideration, so it's there, but I don't know. I was really surprised last year [to get nominated]. And I've always said, when I watched award shows growing up, the unpredictable nature about it, how could you ever expect to get nominated? And I get certain people who have been nominated so many times, maybe, for a specific role or a category, I could see you'd be like "Eee! Hit in the gut!" if you weren't nominated, and I get that, that sounds bad — but besides that, I don't know.

So eight seasons from now, when you're nominated again...

[Laughs] There we go; your lips to God's ear! Exactly!

What did you submit as your Emmy piece?

I haven't had to yet. So I don't know.

That would be hard to pick. How do you decide?

Well, it's weird, because even thinking about last year, or the year before that, once you're not picking once it's over, like a few months away from it, you're like, "Big deal! Just pick one!" But I'm telling you, every time now — this'll be the third time I've had to do it — it does feel a bit harrowing. You're like, "I could do this, but was my part big enough?" And I don't even know all the considerations that go into it. The biggest thing I'm waiting on now is we've got four new episodes left to air, and I want to watch them as much as [from a] viewer [perspective] as I can, to give them a fair shake. And other than that, I don't even have one that I'm completely learning toward at this moment.

Have you finished filming for this season?

Yes, we finished about a week and a half ago.

Can you give us any hints about what to expect?

Oh, heavens yes! They're probably all boring details that have been released somewhere else. But I know that one of the ones coming up, we're going to go back in time a bit — not in a time-machine type of way — but show some history as to how some of the friendships came to be. How we all met. It was so fun! And I thought the writers, as usual, handled it so well and kept it both realistic, but interesting. I really enjoyed doing it. It was very difficult to play, I'll be honest with you, because Sheldon, as it turns out, has made some — and this is surprising to say — social strides since he met Leonard, which meant there was some backpedaling to do on my part in some of the execution of Sheldon's history. It was more challenging than I thought it would be. We would rehearse it. And basically I'd finish a run-through, all week long and they'd be like, "Go a little bit further, go a little bit further." But by the time we did to for the taping night, it was really fun to do and really fun to share that with the audience that was there. So that's coming up. And the other thing, which I know has been talked about some — but I feel it's interesting, because I found it still confusing even being finished with it — is how they go online and fill out a profile page for Sheldon for dating. And the dating site actually finds a match.

What does that match look like?

Well, it looks like Mayim Bialik! TV's Blossom! But we only meet up — I don't think I'm giving away secrets, here — but if anyone is looking to find out answers from me over what this means, I really couldn't tell you, which was perfect that it ended that way. But I said this to a friend of mine who asked me how it went: "I can't imagine anybody will be able to tell you what's about to happen, because I just played the scene and have no idea what's about to happen." I cannot imagine!

So it's a cliffhanger?

Well, our version of such. [Laughs] There's no life at stake.

It's not like an episode of Lost.

Exactly! But that being said, I'm kind of left in some cliffhanger every week, because I never know what is coming up, which is kind of one of the joys — for me at least — of doing this show. Sometimes you have more of a look into the future, like you'll know this is coming up, but they don't tell us anything. The only time I ever get close to getting inside information as far as what the next episode will be, is it'll be like, "Do you already know how to play a recorder?" and you'll be like, "What the hell are we doing with that?"

Right, like, "Do you have any aversions to ball pits?"

Exactly! And higher than they were before I did it, I'll put that out there right now. Those balls cannot be cleaned, as horrible as that statement sounds. There's no amount of cleaning to get those ball-pit balls to a satisfactory, lack-of-dirt-in-your-hair state. There's no such thing.

A lot of Purell?

Yes, but I cannot tell you; We would rehearse the ball pit scene, and I would go to the bathroom to wash my hands afterward. The sink water looked like — and I'm not kidding — it looked like you'd been working on your car, or something. Just the dark brownish-black that would be going down. And I'd be like, "That's disgusting." And then I'd wipe my clean hands, I'd dry them on paper towels, and I'd go ahead and just kind of wipe those across my face, and then I would look and go, "Ah! I'm pink where I just wiped, and now I'm gray everywhere else!" I just wouldn't be able to tell before I'd wiped my face, it was just like, "I'm covered in filth." And I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that if ball pits are beds of disease, I'm not surprised.

Keep your children out of them!

I would! Or, just bathe them afterwards and they're probably fine. But you know, that was the other thing: There wasn't any time to take a complete shower, which is really what you needed after rehearsing the scene. I'll tell you this, too: They're much harder to push through them underneath than it is in a swimming pool. There was the sensation I had when I would tunnel through them, but it was much harder and there was much more resistance than I thought. And I didn't think it'd be true, they're just hollow balls and I'd think water pressure would be more. And maybe it is.

Well, you practically had to swim in them for episode.

Yea, that's exactly what it was. It really is. Which I'm telling you, even though it was dirty: It was so fun!

I watched that scene like 10 times!

Did you really?

It was worth it. "Bazinga!" never fails to make me laugh.

I loved that whole idea. When we shot it, I talked to Chuck [Lorre] and Bill [Prady] right afterwards, because we had pre-shot it, since it'd be hard to capture that in front of the audience. And I was like, "That was such a good idea on Bill's part," and I really felt it was a big highlight of the advantage of kind of the base topic of this show being science. It's one more example of how if you can think of it, we can find a way to fit it in, in the way that science encompasses everything. We have almost this built-in excuse for wherever you want to go, as far as plot line and bringing a ball pit in. I think that's one of the fun things about playing these characters, too, they're unlike anybody that I've ever met or dealt with. It's hard to put any sort of, "That wouldn't happen," sort of "realistic limitations" on them — other than maybe super powers. Other than that, I don't really know what they're capable of. They're going to think of things and do things that I would never dream of. That makes it really fun.

Speaking of the crazy science; How hard is it to learn all that science jargon every week?

It's hard! I would be absolutely lying through my teeth if I said that was the easiest part of the job. It's absolutely the hardest part of the job. I like doing it. I guess it's a good thing, since I decided to be an actor, I do enjoy memorizing. I do enjoy spending the time alone, breaking down sentences and just rambling them over and over again until it is second nature. But it's every week, the same thing with it. And while I keep enjoying it, by the end of the season, you do start feeling a little brain dead about it. It's like, "Are you kidding?!" That's just the thing with all these characters, perhaps Sheldon to a greater degree; it's not natural speak. Beyond just the actual words being used — Just the formation of the words in a sentence! And the topics of conversation! People ask if there is a lot of improv on the set... Where would we start?! You know? If I lose my place, we're just screwed. We have to start over, I can't get us back on track. But, once again, in a sort of sick way, I really kind of enjoy that. It requires a certain specificity — and not to sound hopelessly deep about this — in the effort to execute this, in the need to be so specific about things, it once again opens up a lot of freedom. You have this very defined train track, if you will, and through these words and structured sentences, once you're riding on that track and secure on it, you're kind of free to add other colors and do other things. I'm telling you, I may just be a sadist, but I really think there's some enjoyment there.

There's this fan base out there that really wants to see Sheldon and Penny together. Do you have any thoughts about that? Do you think it would happen?

Well, I'm a big believer in never say never. And as I've already admitted, I don't speak with these writers, [so] I never know what they are going to do, but that being said, I would be jaw-dropped if that ever happened. You know, I go on both sides of going "that's insane" and "I totally get it." What I get about it is that is the very essence of what I think makes — and it's in many different shows, where you have a couple characters, where you put them together — what makes it enjoyable is that, in this case, they're so different. I've said from the beginning; the five characters in this piece these two are polar opposites of each other, her being most Earth-bound and tactile, and him being the most, literally, in his head. And that's fun! And just sticking them on stage at the same time, sparks begin to fly immediately because they're so different. So that, in that way of opposites attract, I completely get why it would be fun to go yin and yang where they could bring out the best in each other, whatever. Where I think it's insane — I shouldn't say insane — where I think the hope for it is off-base, I feel they've really developed — and again, it's hard for me to say, because I'm playing it — but I feel they've really developed a brother-and-sister-type-thing between the two of them.

I can totally see that.

Yea, it's not... I can't imagine — I think you do have to look really hard to find anything sort of any sexual anything that's happened with Sheldon since the show began. But especially in a one-on-one scene with Penny. An actual sort of physical thing happening?! I don't think so at all! He's seen more of her body when she got injured than Leonard has, and things didn't go anywhere. And the other thing is, if my wishes were listened to, I wouldn't want them to, because I personally enjoy playing that more sibling dynamic with her in the scenes than I would necessarily a romantic thing. I think in that siblings thing, there's a purity there. There's an innocence to them.

I know you said there's not a lot of time for improv, but is it fun on set? Is there a lot of cracking up?

It's very fun on set. And it's an extremely enjoyable place to work. I will say though — and there's a good deal of laughter and stuff — there's not a good deal of pranks. I was discussing this with somebody recently how the question of, "Are there a lot of jokes on set?" frequently comes up, and the answer is no! Surprisingly not! And I don't know what that's bred of. I think number one, everybody's trying to get the job done, is the big thing. And it's easy to say, "Well, we're just being very serious about our comedy," and I guess that's true to a degree. I don't know, I don't know what that's from. But we really get in and do our work. But we have fun! Being on-set is fun.

I don't think I would have been able to see everybody in all of the guys in their female superhero character costumes without bursting out laughing.

[Sighs] I don't know what to say to that, either. I'm trying to think, what was our reaction?

Well, you're all professional actors.

Well, that has nothing to do with it; we're all still hopelessly immature in our own ways. I think: We were all four crammed into the costume shop getting changed because we had to do it quickly. And you are sort of giggling and shocked seeing other people in their costumes. But for me, I was so concerned with, "Oh my God! How does this look?!" I'm not used to having anything near this on, and we're about to shoot this for TV. It's going to air, and there's a star right on my crotch! There's a certain — not horror — but you're very concerned. And even the hair issue! Like, I don't know what to do with this hair once we get out there! Do I need to be shoving it out of my face? Do I need to touch it at all? I don't know. And I'll be honest, one of the things is, something like that in the script is so.. it is what it is. There's not really any nuance to that. There's no finding the humor in this subtle moment. So I think part of that pressure lays on, where you're like, "I hope people don't hate this when we come out," because it's not like I can shake it up. It is what it is.

Are you working on anything else during your break, or are you just resting?

I'm hopefully going to rest a little bit. Between doing the press and stuff, it's amazing how far this season goes beyond stage time. And a couple of things I'm hoping will pan out. If they don't, a break isn't the worst thing in the world. But fingers crossed I'll get to work on something.

Are there any other comedies that you watch that you can tell us you're a fan of, even if they're your competitors?

Oh, I don't mind. I've really enjoyed — and I'm a broken record when I say this, because everyone else says it, too — but I've really enjoyed Modern Family. I just think it's fun. I don't feel like I get a lot of time for tons of TV... but I've tried to make time for that. And I know one of the guys on it, and I really enjoy it. I think it's really well done. And like I said, I feel like a broken record. But truth is truth.

Big Bang Theory's Parsons returns to Catastrophic by Andrew Dansby

The Catastrophic Theatre's annual gala takes place this weekend with a TV theme, but don't expect The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons to come in character as Sheldon Cooper. Parsons' presence is in part because the hit sitcom is on a break. So he's returning home (out of character) to be honored by the theater troupe that includes many of his old cohorts from the local Infernal Bridegroom theater group, with whom he helped stage Endgame, The Threepenny Opera and numerous other productions. He talked a little about his background here and his work on Big Bang.

Is there much asked of a guest of honor at a gala?

(Laughs.) I certainly hope not. There's nothing more harrowing than the possibility of failed expectations. I'm not the most social creature in the world. But I do expect I'll see a lot of people that I haven't seen in a long time.

Big Bang has been the rare show these days that was allowed to develop slowly over a few seasons. Do you guys feel lucky?

Absolutely. It's had a healthy climb in the ratings each season, so we never had the rug pulled out. Even immediate success can be bad; it can lead to a scary plummeting that makes people ask, “What happened?” Healthy is the word I'm using. It was a healthy approach that allows us to keep focused on our job.

It seems to allow you and the writers to fine-tune a character rather than desperately try to rejigger plot lines to attract viewers.

I couldn't agree more. And this show's writers are so good about that exact thing. One of the scary things and also one of the joys of TV is to create as you go. But I feel really fortunate to play this multifaceted character whose laughs seem to come not from some damaged place but something more complicated. He's a smart guy, to put it mildly, but he has some issues that affect his view of the world and his actions in it. It's so much fun to respond to that week in, week out. You get to trust the writers and see where they lead you.

Do you have a hard time calling your old Infernal Bridegroom cohorts Catastrophic Theatre people?

Of course I do. I force myself on any calendar to write “Catastrophic event.” … I remember my friend Tim, he was Timmy when we met. I was the last person in our circle that ended up calling him Tim. I couldn't help myself.

Do you think the good old days here put you on your path?

Yes. Honestly, I've thought about this more in the past few years since I've had steady work on this show. I really consider my acting education, if you will, in three distinct eras of my learning process. First, where I really dove in with all my heart was at the University of Houston, where I had a wonderful experience in every way, from the classroom to the stage to the group of friends I met. Then, related to that — and they slightly overlap — is working with Infernal Bridegroom. It was the first time I got to do Beckett and Brecht on stage, working in different venues, warehouses and outdoors and parking lots and theaters. Then there was my life in New York and auditions in places sometimes the size of a broom closet. And the third leg was grad school at the University of San Diego. But working with Infernal Bridegroom — now Catastropic! — wasn't part of my institutionalized education, but I put it there so evenly with my wonderful institutional experiences.

Are productions like kids? Can you not pick favorites?

Oh no, you can pick favorites. Though it can be hard to measure what you learn from each production. One of my favorites at Infernal Bridegroom was my first with them, Beckett's Endgame.

So you jumped in with something lighthearted and easy.

(Laughs.) Exactly, let's take this slowly. But it was an eye-opening experience for me as far as the way I felt about Beckett. Part of me understood something in this text that even to this day I can't verbalize what it was. It was a trying experience, and it was passionately focused. We were working in a warehouse, not necessarily the best conditions. So in a way it was a labor of love. I went through times in that production where I'd say to my roomate, “I'll never work with these people again.” (Laughs.)

People who leave Houston seem to have strong opinions about food when they're back in town. Any favorite places?

Yes, without a doubt. One of my favorite places to go was Chuy's. I still love going to Chuy's. I always order the cheese enchiladas with chopped onions on top. People always ask about old haunts. I'm not exactly a party animal, so I don't do club hopping. But I do like to go out to eat.

Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons looks back at his humble, local start by Sarah Rufca

Before Jim Parsons was the eccentric genius Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, he was a founding member of Houston's Infernal Bridegroom Productions (IBP), performing in 18 plays with the group. Parsons also graduated from Klein Oak High School and the University of Houston.

With the talented IBP crew having reorganized as Catastrophic Theatre, Parsons is taking a trip back to town as the honoree Saturday night for Catastrophic Theatre's gala, "Big! Bang! Catastrophe!" at Houston Studios.

In advance of his glorious one-night return to the Houston theater scene, CultureMap spoke with Parsons about his Houston experiences and his beloved breakout character.

Tell me about your time at Infernal Bridegroom Productions. What did you learn from the experience?

The experience was very life-encompassing ... it really took over, and I threw myself into for a period of time. I went to undergrad at the University of Houston and graduate school at the University of San Diego, and the further I get away from those days the more I feel that my Infernal Bridegroom experience was on par with my traditional education in getting me where I am.

It gave me a chance to do a type of play that I wasn't exposed to at university, like Beckett and Brecht. Both of my university experiences were pretty straight and narrow, with plays in spaces that were very typical, as opposed to Infernal Bridegroom performing all over the map. More often then not we were in a warehouse or parking lot, whatever we could create a show in.

There were a lot of important lessons that I learned, including the ability to perform under any circumstances. You can only learn it by getting the chance to do it, to perform in whatever room, in front of whatever audience that you have. It builds confidence that's born of literal fact that you have done that. It's harder to throw me as an actor than it would be had I not had that experience.

You were nominated for an Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series last year. In an ensemble cast, what makes Sheldon stand out as being so funny?

If Sheldon stands out its because, I think, Sheldon is a combination, an extreme example of some very humanistic traits. His obsession with his spot, that's a very normal thing, but what makes it not normal is his obsession. He's not trying to be rude, he's just stating a fact, but most people would find it to be rude to tell someone to move in their own house. That's what makes him so appealing as a character, he has these normal tendencies but they're so magnified, so extreme, and there's no one else like him on TV.

And these are geniuses, they aren't just nerds, they aren’t just smart, they have some of the brilliant, beuatiful minds that shape our world. And because he has such an exceptional mind, we allow him to go there. And theres a great freedom in that and a great joy in that. You have a very large color palette, which is kind of ironic.

As someone with multiple degrees, do you ever use your personal experience when playing Sheldon on Big Bang Theory?

You know, I'd be lying if I said I did. Maybe subconsciously … I really enjoyed the educational environment, my mother and sister are both schoolteachers — they teach first grade — so I think being in an educational environment is in my DNA. But the only thing that's ever consciously brought in is what (the writers) write. I know I bring something in, but very little is beyond what they put in the pages. They do a good enough job with saying who he is and having him say who he is.

How often do you make it back to Houston? Is there anything in town you always try to visit while you're here?

About twice a year, Christmas and summertime, and its usually very family-centric, with maybe a couple friends that I try and see. We always, end up at two places: Lupe Tortilla and Pappadeaux. When I lived here I don't think we had Lupe Tortilla, or it was new, but my family has started going there and I really like it. Mexican is my favorite kind of food, and I've eaten it wherever I've lived.

It's very different in New York and in California, but I like it all. But Tex-Mex is my favorite. I could take a trip and eat Tex-Mex every day.

Is it weird to be coming back as a special guest and honoree for the same people you started out with?

It's a little odd, but at the same time, if I can help bring attention to not just a theater group, but a group of people who have been important to my life and my growth as an actor, if I can bring attention financially, it is so my pleasure to try.

This has been for so long now such worthy work, both back when we were together and what they still do. It's a crucial part of a cultural theme in Houston. It fills a void, I got to work and people got to see things they wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to see.

Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons on his newfound fame, his Emmy nomination, and being typecast by Tyrone Warner

As brilliant physicist Sheldon Cooper, Jim Parsons brings to life a beloved, dysfunctional mastermind.

"The Big Bang Theory" follows a groups of geniuses who know all about how the universe works: except for women. When Penny, a Midwestern actress looking for her break in the big city, moves across the hall, she rocks their world — and learns to love their geeky charms.

Parsons was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and won the 2009 Television Critics Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy for his work as Sheldon on "Big Bang Theory."

During an interview with CTV.ca, Parsons talked at length about his role on the series.

On how his life has changed with the success of "The Big Bang Theory":

It's the most, as an actor, I've ever worked consecutively and, therefore, the most I've ever made money acting in a row. And I hate to bring it down to such a base level, but — although other things have changed, and maybe I'll think of those that sound more interesting… Actually, the biggest thing for me still is that it's the most financial freedom I've ever known doing this job, which, you know, isn't that interesting because everybody who knows that I'm on TV knows that. But that's the fact of it.

It's the little things like that that trip me up the most. Like I remember when we first started airing, like they would have billboards up for us. Or, like, homemade T shirts or whatever or — I don't know. It's the times I don't expect it that it really takes me off guard.

On being recognized by his fans:

I do run into lots of people in the street, it's true. And, you know… that’s weird. The only time it's a little strange for me is if I'm out shopping or especially if I'm in a restaurant eating and I realize that I've been spotted and somebody is looking.

I've learned to do is just go, "Don't worry about it." It's taken me a long time, and I can't do it all the time, not worry about it, because it feels weird, especially if you're eating.

On how much of Sheldon is "written" and how much is his own creation:

Well, in a literal sense all of it is written; all of it's dictated. I'm not stupid. I realize that everything they've written is going through, you know, my own sick filter. So it is being executed by me. And never mind the fact — and this one is impossible to pinpoint — we've now been working together for three years essentially, so they (the writers) hear us. They're writing for us. You know what I mean?

Like not necessarily about our lives or whatever, but rhythms and "What would sound good coming out of their mouth?" essentially. I put full blame, if you will, on the writers every time, though. I really do. I — once again, I understand that it's going through my interpretation of it, but to my own foolishness sometimes, I always feel like I'm executing exactly what they said to.

And part of the reason I feel that way is because it's a safety net for me. I feel very secure. I'm able to really kind of let go and get into it because it's their invention and I want to execute it to the best of my ability. So I guess the answer is sort of I don't know.

I don't know how much I'm affecting what it is. It's evolving, but I don't write it. So other than the doing of it, which is really hard to stand back from at the same time you're doing it, it's kind of hard for me to understand what effect I'm having on that evolution and that they're just taking on your own.

On struggling with the technical dialog on the show:

It’s a very fun struggle. I can literally feel my brain going, "Would you knock it off? Enough." But I still love it. I'm lucky that we tape on Tuesday nights as opposed to being a Monday-through-Friday show. So I get to rehearse Wednesday. I get to rehearse Thursday. I get to rehearse Friday and then Saturday and Sunday. And sometimes I don't need it as much as others, but some episodes, I really do. I'm able to be alone with just those words and just kind of pace around my house and really get it in.

But once again, it's frustrating at times, but it's one of the great joys for me. And from day one of auditioning for this, I loved it. The audition was not — was not easy to get yourself through. It was like, "Oh, my God" — but fun in that kind of puzzle-solving way of going, "No. How does this work? Where is this rhythm they've written in here? Where's the funny in this? Where's the humanity in this technical mumbo jumbo" or just things I just don't identify with naturally? But I enjoy it. And I think, once again, they do an excellent job of — it's not — it's not an impossible mystery or puzzle. It's there, you know.

On who is smarter in real life: himself or his co-star Johnny Galecki:

Honestly, we're all different from each other. I think it's one of the things that, from the first casting session between the two of us, worked. And I don't know why. There's a yin and yang about us, not only as characters written, but as human beings. I've said it in the beginning, and I don't mean it in a mean way, but there was no reason to believe that that would work between the two of us.

We're very different people. Going back to it all going through the filter of my own brain, whatever is happening with the filter of it through his brain, it's kind of nice. I think it's the same way that its fun seeing Sheldon and Penny together, you know. I could trip out my brain for days trying to think of how every actor in this show — how the script goes through their brain. What are they thinking? It really makes my head hurt just to even talk about it. I can't even imagine. But it's very interesting that we all get to that point of Tuesday night taping and we all have to do it. But I don't know what they do to get there, you know. Pray? I do sometimes.

On feeling extra pressure due to his Emmy nomination:

I guess we all feel our own pressures in one way or the other, and maybe there's something. But I would be making it up if I said specifically I felt any sort of, like, change. I don't feel very different — going back to how I felt about the character from audition one. In some ways, it is what it has been. You know what I mean? And certainly for me and my feelings about it and my approach to it, whether it's an episode where Sheldon-heavy or it's an episode where he gets to sit back a little more in the group, I feel — other than maybe having a few extra hours on the weekend not to memorize, I feel pretty much the same about it week in and week out, you know.

I was nervous about going (to the Emmys), and I don't even know why. There was just something on-the-spot feeling about it. Chuck Lorre was talking to me about it. He texted me about it. It was just like, "Enjoy this," you know. And I'd kind of gone through it in my own head. I did feel oddly, a little nervous just about going, but then there was a part of me that was like, "Don't be" — "don't be an old man and look back and go, 'Well, I wish I would have enjoyed that. I worried my way right through that time of my life.'" What a waste. And like I say, I was thinking that already. And Chuck, just out of the blue, kind of said, "Whatever happens, just have a really good time." Because if you're not, there's no point in that, you know. You're not — it's not even working on an episode. And maybe that was part of the pressure in a situation like that. There was nothing to work on. There was nothing to do. You're just supposed to show up and put on a tux. And then there's going to be a camera in your face, and it's going to be really close on you when they announce Alec Baldwin's name.

And — but, you know, as it turns out, that's really about the hardest part of it, is just that moment – my palms are sweating, thinking about it. Right before it happens is the worst part, because as wonderful as it would be, then you'd have to get up and talk.

On the roles he’s played before "Big Bang Theory," and being worried about getting type-cast as a geek:

I did a lot of theater, you know. A whole lot of theater. So I played a lot of different kinds of characters. As far as worrying (about typecasting), I'm sure that it will happen to a degree. One of the problems is not only does somebody see you every week as a certain character, but if you haven't gotten the chance to audition for them or they haven't seen anything else you've done, then they don't know anything else you've done. That's just a basic fact of life.

As far as worrying about it, though, I don't. And it's really twofold reasons why. Number one, other than doing my work and trying to find things to do that could change opinions, there's not that much I can do about it. All I can do is what I'm — keep working, you know. And the second thing of it is whether it's — whether I ever get to do TV again, whether I ever do movies, whatever I do, I know, just from how I feel and how I've always been, I will continue to work. Whether I'm doing a one-man show in my mother's backyard somewhere, I'll find something to do. And in that spirit of it, no, it doesn't worry me.

On how Sheldon is going to progress as a character on "The Big Bang Theory":

I've actually heard the producers say this before: Very, very slowly. Basically paint drying. It is fun to have hopes and dreams for these characters in a way, both as an actor and as an audience member. But there's a reliability factor about them that I don't want them to change too much. You know what I mean?

The most common question that comes up is "Will romance ever happen in Sheldon's life?" or whatever. And A, I think if it does, it won't be in the near future. But B, I think we could handle it in a way that could be very smartly done and protect the essence of the character and just simply add dimensions, you know. And that's one of the great joys about being on a television show that's able to stay on the air, is that you get a chance to be developing these characters.

And if I'd have heard that phrase a few years ago, I would have had a different view of what that meant. I would have thought that I would be more aware of the development going on. Good or bad, I find myself less aware of the development going on because I'm part of it. But you do start backlogging these histories and these characters, and they become these things. And so then I think eventually you can add some sort of slightly dramatic element that's different for them — in his case, maybe it would be a romance or whatever — and allow that to affect. I think what you don't want is to have anything that would dilute the character in any way, you know. And God forbid we normalize Sheldon or whatever, because why would you?

Guest DJ project - Jim Parsons by kcrw

Jim Parsons plays one of the funniest characters on TV - the genius, albeit neurotic, physicist Dr. Sheldon Cooper on the CBS show "The Big Bang Theory." In his Guest DJ set, Jim gets "hopelessly deep" over Steely Dan, proclaims his admiration for Elvis and explains the therapeutic nature of piano playing, all while sharing personal and poignant stories about his life. This week, the Emmy-nominated actor receives the Television Chairman's Award at the NAB Show.

Tracks

1. Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
2. Madonna - Don't Tell Me
3. Bach - Sheep May Safely Graze
4. Pixies - No. 13 Baby
5. Steely Dan - Deacon Blues

Hey there, it's Dan Wilcox from KCRW and I have the distinct pleasure of sitting here with actor Jim Parsons, who's best known for his Emmy-nominated role as the genius, albeit neurotic physicist, Dr. Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory." Welcome Jim.

Thank you for having me.

Today we're going to be playing excerpts of songs that have inspired him over the years as part of KCRW's Guest DJ Project. So Jim, what do you have for us today?

The first one I have is "Suspicious Minds," by Elvis. I found Elvis, musically, in my grandmother's house through albums that they had. And my image of Elvis, that I knew from my grandmother's records, was of a guy that managed to be both cooler than I could even fathom being and a better son at the same time. He was just such a good mama's boy and bought his mom that house and what have you. And I thought, how are you doing…you're outdoing me in both ways!! But anyway, the reason "Suspicious Minds" sticks out for me is because when I first heard that, or when it first came into my consciousness, I could not believe the theatricality about it. And between the back up singers and the horns and whatever, it was…I guess this is much more judging — ‘what do you mean you couldn't believe Elvis had theatricality? — but, like I said, I had the younger one in my head…

That doesn't sound like the Elvis I know.

*laughs* But I identified with that. I was like, ‘I get that. That is an Elvis I do have something in common with.'

This song gives me the feeling of a show that I REALLY want to be a part of.

That was Elvis, with "Suspicious Minds." Ok, this next one, you've got some explaining to do, what gives…

Are you upset that Madonna's on the list?

No, not at all. I'm just…it's interesting. Not only just Madonna, but this particular song.

Really!?

I'm very curious to hear.

My relationship with this song "Don't Tell Me" is very… it was an odd confluence of events. I was in grad school for theater and my best friend in the program was a big Madonna fan. I had been young and I enjoyed Madonna, like the "Borderline" stuff. But I hadn't really thought much about Madonna much since then. I knew she was there — how could you not —

Yeah, it's kinda hard not to…

Exactly. But he was a fanatic. And, keep going in time, we're about to graduate, we're working on our thesis projects, which were these one man shows and we'd all perform them in about an hour period, me and my class. And while we're in the middle of working on them, or towards the end of it actually, I find out that my dad passed away in a car accident.

And, life is just completely turned upside down as far as what's happening. And, very specifically for me, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm about to graduate from grad school — what does my family need from me? What does my mother, what does my sister need from me as far as this life-changing event that has occurred? And at some point it just hit me that I will only be of service to my family by doing what I need to do and my path. And that all that other kind of things of how we're going to help each other, that's all going to work out.

So I went back and I decided I'm going to do my thesis project, I'm going to graduate and we're going to go from there. And when I got back, my class is like, ‘you get to pick the song we're going to bow to.' And so I picked "Don't Tell Me," by Madonna, which I really liked and thought it was a good idea. The only thing I'll say is that the beginning part, that stuttering in the music, really kind of came back to bite us in the ass, because when you are taking a bow and music starts up and then it's out, the audience is very confused as to what's happening and they think the sound system in the theater is going out. And so, I'm still happy I picked it, but I don't think I'd do it again because it wasn't really the best thing to take a bow to.

Ok, that was "Don't Tell Me" by Madonna. I'm sitting here with Jim Parsons, the actor, who's going through some music that means a lot to him. And we are moving on to our next pick. Why don't you tell us about it?

Classical song, it is "Sheep May Safely Graze," by Bach. I first got to know this song through the piano. I was taking lessons. I went through a few different teachers and the final teacher I had, Mrs. Griffiths, we really connected at a very soulful level. The lessons were good and we got a lot of work done, but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something therapeutic about them. But it mostly came out through the work. And this is a good example. We played "Sheep May Safely Graze" as, I believe they call it "four hands, two pianos," where she would play a part and I would play a part, that's how the sheet music was laid out. And it's kind of unsurprising, looking back, that this was such a good fit for me because there was a touch of acting in it, in that we had to relate to each other, we had to answer each other and talk together basically through the piano in this song. And it was just as close to a spiritual experience, really, playing that song with her.

Several years after she and I played it together, on my own, I did take out that sheet music again and, for the first time ever, looked at her part. And I played her part. And there was an odd sensation for me because you're so, or I was, so focused on learning my part of it. And to go back and try and play her part,…not only did you find it, difficult, but, also, so beautiful on its own. And I'd never heard her part on its own because I'd never practiced her part. And it was that feeling of something somebody was doing for you that you didn't realize at the time, you know. And there was something kind of bittersweet in discovering that, mostly sweet, cause you're like ‘awwwww,' which is kind of odd to explain I guess, because she was just doing her part. But we were a team playing it.

That was Sheep May Safely Graze, a piece by Bach. Let's move on to our next pick. What have you got for us?

This is off the Pixie's "Doolittle" album, it's called "No. 13 Baby." This album — in particular the "Doolittle" album — was very much a soundtrack to a certain time in my life. And that would have been during undergrad, when I was just getting back involved into doing theater again. I'd kind of taken time off from acting after high school. I didn't know if I wanted to do it. And I was very fortunate to become quick friends with a couple of people, a guy and a girl who were dating. And got a lot of work done, both in the way of becoming better actors — or at least attempting to — literally doing a lot of theater shows together, we were just getting cast in shows together and stuff, which was really fun. And we were doing a lot of work just growing up as very young adults. And we played the heck out of this album. It's funny because I listen to this album, I don't listen to it a lot anymore, and partly it's because it kind of makes me a little sad, for what's gone, and oddly a little anxious. Not in a bad way, but there's a quality to so many of these Pixies songs on this album that the words, and the songs themselves…this one very much so I think exemplifies, kind of going back to that melancholy thing, and there's a little hint of…it's not haunting, but there's, it's almost once again something's kind of not all the way right.

And that was the Pixies with the song "No. 13 Baby," and we are moving on to our next pick. Why don't you tell us about it?

"Deacon Blues," by Steely Dan. One of the things it reminds me of, it's reminiscent of the theme from "Taxi" — "Angela's Song." There's something that that does to me too that this one kind of does. It allows me to feel I'm kind of cool with things, in a way that I don't really by nature. I don't just mean that I'm not that cool, but I'm not that cool with things. There's something about this, they seem ok with it all. It's not all good, it's not all going to work out, and that's ok. And there is a ‘must go on despite all the melancholy' about it. You know, there is a driven force, the heartbeat if you will, that goes not just ‘life goes on,' but ‘the fight continues.' I mean, talk about hopelessly deep on the Steely Dan song, but you get what I'm saying. It is, once again, not as much the words as just the quality of that sound of music.

Jim, thank you so much for coming down here and sharing these songs with us.

I appreciate it very much. I had no idea how close to therapy it would be and I don't have to pay you at the end of it. So this is wonderful.