James Joseph Parsons, famously known as Jim Parsons, portrayed eccentric physicist Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory.
Jim Parsons, born on March 24, 1973, at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas, is an American actor famously known for his portrayal of Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” from 2007 to 2009. For his portrayal of Sheldon, Parsons has won various awards including four Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe. He was even named the highest-paid television actor in the world from 2015 to 2018 by Forbes.
Disclaimer: This article will contain information revolving around Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory and may contain spoilers for some. Readers are advised to read at their discretion.
Who is Sheldon Cooper?
Sheldon Lee Cooper is the main protagonist of The Big Bang Theory alongside his best friend and flatmate, Leonard Hofstadter (played by Johnny Galecki). Sheldon is a highly renowned theoretical physicist at Caltech.
With an IQ of 187, Sheldon considers himself to be a prodigy, a genius that only comes once in a lifetime. He has had his intellect acumen since he was a kid. He began High School at 9, which caused his big brother Georgie Cooper trouble since he was in the same year as his baby brother. Sheldon graduated High School in 2 years, and at the age of 11, he went to college and received a PhD at 16. Along with his intellectual acumen, Sheldon fully embraces his geeky side. He is a big fan of everything that one might consider “nerdy,” from comics to video games and everything in the middle.
Although Sheldon considers himself to be the best humanity has to offer (he has even contemplated the possibility that he is a more evolved species than humans), he does have his faults, most noteworthy being his inability to show empathy and compassion. However, it is not because he is cruel, he just simply doesn’t understand what they are and is (mostly) unable to identify situations when they are required.
Related: Sheldon's Sister On The Big Bang Theory
Who was originally supposed to play Sheldon Cooper?
Although it is hard for any of us to imagine anyone other than Jim Parsons to play Sheldon Cooper, he was surprisingly not the fist choice for the role. Chuck Lorre, one of the creators of the show, revealed that he wanted Johnny Galecki to play the role of Sheldon Cooper. However, Galecki felt that he was better suited to play Leonard.
Following this, when Jim Parsons auditioned for the role, he was "so startlingly good" that they asked Parsons to reaudition just to make sure that he didn’t just get lucky.
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FAQ's On Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory
A. Jim Parsons has stated that Sheldon is smarter than him, at least book-smart. He even admitted in an interview once that he failed science in college. That being said, he further clarified it by saying “I am not stupid, just not a genius.”
A. In The Big Bang Theory, Ramona has the biggest crush on Sheldon.
A. Sheldon Cooper is 27 years old in the pilot of the series.
