TALK SHOWS, TABLE TENNIS, AND
NORTH POLE BEARDS: AN EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW WITH JIM PARSONS

Interview by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor for RadioFree.com
August 1, 2009

In a matter of two years, The Big Bang Theory has gone from fledgling startup to certifiable hit, being renewed for not one, but two additional seasons. Anchoring CBS' strong Monday night comedy block with How I Met Your Mother, the sitcom enters the first of those two new years with the follow-up to the second season finale, in which Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj went off on a scientific expedition to the North Pole.

Much of the show's success can be attributed to the performance of Jim Parsons, who plays the brilliant but often socially confounded Sheldon Cooper. But despite the fact that fans love his ability to rattle off a dense piece of scientific jargon and his delivery of Sheldon's smug but lovable demeanor, good fortune has not gone to his head. In fact, quite the opposite: Jim remains unnervingly humble about the whole thing, regularly deferring to his co-stars and speaking with an air of gratitude and disbelief when confronted with accolades. Viewers could just about see him blush when he announced the nominees for the 2009 Primetime Emmys--a list that included him for the first time as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

We had the opportunity to speak to Jim at the 2009 awards ceremony for the Television Critics Association, where The Big Bang Theory was highlighted for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. Despite the show's accomplishments and the noisy, bustling environment of the reception area (not to mention the distractions of an open bar and incredible food), Jim graciously took time to chat with anyone who wanted a moment; and during the ceremony itself, he was markedly attentive as other shows and actors were honored, and seemed to revel in the thrill of being there.

In this exclusive interview, Jim talks to us about his recent talk show appearances, The Big Bang Theory's upcoming season debut, and the on-set table tennis competition amongst the cast and crew.

RadioFree.com: Since your very first talk show appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, you've made several returns to the show, and you seem to be getting more and more comfortable each time. Have you gotten the hang of the whole talk show thing now?

JIM: I have to be honest: I really love it. Craig's really easy for me now, for some reason. I don't know if it's because it's the first one. I think it more has to do with [the fact that] he makes life easy on that "talking couch."

It's a very laid back environment...

Yes. But that being said, I was really nervous to go do Letterman. But I still enjoyed it. And I love all of them in a weird way. Maybe I'm really vain and I enjoy talking, but I do--I enjoy getting to go on them.

I thought Letterman could have been little nicer to you...

Really?

[referring to David Letterman's crush on Julia Roberts] I think the problem is that you're not Julia Roberts...

And I did compete that night with Beyonce, who looked fantastic. And in the middle of it, Regis Philban came out dressed as Shrek...



Your castmates are currently growing beards for the show's third season premiere, but you are not. Is Sheldon doing something different, or are you waiting because you can crank out a full-on beard in a week?

No, I wish. When I got the message about this, I heard, probably through wishful thinking, that they just wanted us to not cut our hair. And then people started saying, "No, they want us to grow beards, too." Now to be fair, two things happened: number one, I don't grow as well as the rest of them--they all are doing it very well; but number two, by that point, I was only a couple of days from doing the Emmy nomination announcements, and so I was like, "I'm shaving for that, I'm sorry." And then once that all happened, they were like, "You know what? We'll deal with it, don't worry about it." I shaved again today!

Ah! I thought perhaps Sheldon was intentionally breaking form with Leonard, Howard, and Raj...

No. Although that's what I thought! I thought they'll have me grow all this hair, and then we'll get there and be like, "You know what? Sheldon wouldn't have. Never mind..." and cut it off. But I don't think that's going to happen either.

It's awesome that you guys have the security of being picked up for two additional seasons...

Oh my God, yeah.

What are your feelings on that? Is it a relief to not have to worry about that aspect of the business for now?

Certainly, there's a huge level of not feeling quite as worried as you would if you didn't have a job. [laughs] But I just didn't expect that. I had never heard of that. And so I still feel surprised when we say that. I mean, especially right now, when I think about it, we haven't even started working on the first of those two seasons yet, you know?

We understand table tennis competitions are big on the set of the show. How is your game going?

It's been on hiatus the entire summer. I'm scared to death that I'm going to come back with no skills at all.

When you guys last played, who was dominating the leaderboard?

Kaley and Kunal. And frankly, Simon's doing really well, too. I have to be honest with you: I'm very competitive and I love playing, but I'm not as good as them...Maybe taking the break helped.

Lastly, is there a particular direction you'd like to see Sheldon take in terms of character development?

I don't know...They're so good at making sh*t up, as it were, that I don't ever sit around and daydream about what I'd like to see. They're so good at delivering wonderful things.

Well, it sounds like you're looking forward to it just as much as we are...

Yeah, I am.

Thanks for your time, it was a pleasure speaking with you.

You, too.