Jim Parsons had the career millions dream about, but the “Big Bang Theory” star said the success came with a steep personal price.
At the height of his fame, Parsons wasn’t celebrating his success. Instead, the Emmy-winning actor said he was overwhelmed by obsessive habits that left him “stressed” and “miserable.”
“I look back now and realize that there were many ways, at some of the best moments of my life, I was miserable,” Parsons said during an appearance on “All Out with Jon Dean.” “I was not happy. I was stressed.”
“I felt that there was so many plates I was supposed to be keeping in the air and that the success and the good things of life that were happening were only due to this overworking … discipline and whatever,” he continued. “And maybe to a degree that was true. I don’t know.”
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Although Parsons acknowledged his intense discipline may have contributed to his success, he said the constant pressure he placed on himself ultimately wasn’t worth the emotional toll.
“I can’t say because that’s how I was,” he added. “But I wouldn’t do that again and for any amount of money … just because it was stressful and miserable at times. I made myself miserable.”
“From your own work ethic?” host Jon Dean asked.
“If you want to call it that,” Parsons said. “It translated in part into a work ethic, but it was really just obsessive behavior basically.”
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Parsons said the perfectionism that helped propel his career also trapped him in a cycle of obsessive behavior he now realizes wasn’t necessary.
“Yes, I was disciplined. Yes, I had a good work ethic, but a lot of it was because it was kind of OCD in nature,” he noted.
“I had a list of things basically in my head that I had to get done in order to be comfortable and know that I could do my job right, which I don’t think was true.”
The actor said his obsessive routine caused him to miss out on “tons of life” that didn’t fit into the structure he had built for himself. Even now, Parsons admitted he doesn’t know whether he could have found a better balance.
“I don’t honestly know,” he told Dean. “In the same way, I can’t go back. I don’t know that I would be where I – well, I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I hadn’t have had that time of life.”
“And the somewhat self-tortured nature of it was part of it,” he added. “So, I don’t know what to tell people … Like, I don’t know how much of that is necessary.”
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Parsons rose from stage work and small television roles to become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable sitcom stars after landing the role of Dr. Sheldon Cooper on CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” in 2007.
His performance on the show earned him four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and a Golden Globe.
“The Big Bang Theory” ran for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019 and became one of the most successful sitcoms in TV history. Parsons starred alongside Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch in the sitcom.
He is also known for his roles in “Young Sheldon,” “The Normal Heart,” “Hidden Figures” and “The Boys in the Band.”
