Jim Parsons Has Tips For New Actor Playing Sheldon Cooper On ‘Big Bang Theory’ Spinoff
Soon there will be a new face bringing life to Sheldon Cooper, and Jim Parsons has advice for that lucky person: don’t follow in his footsteps. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Parsons gave his take on how the as-yet-unchosen actor playing the young Cooper in a Big Bang Theory spinoff should approach the role he made famous.
“I would advise that actor to watch me as little as possible, and take that thing by the horns, and make it your own.”
Parsons will executive produce the new series which, as Inquisitr previously reported, will explore the childhood of Sheldon Cooper growing up in East Texas. As fans of The Big Bang Theory know, Cooper’s upbringing was a time when he struggled in an environment where his genius was not appreciated. Parsons told ET that creating a spinoff that focuses on Sheldon just made sense.
“[The writers] have done, from the beginning, such a good job of building such a history and a layered nature to all these characters. It just seems like a really wasted opportunity if you don’t decide to explore the origin story with that. I mean, they’ve layered so many things in there over the past decade that is already there to be drawn from. I’m really excited about it. I think it will be very different than ‘Big Bang,’ but in a good way.”
While Parsons is looking to shed new light on his best-known character, he’s also exploring his political side with a six-part SiriusXM series, Jim Parsons is Too Stupid for Politics.
That leaves Parsons’ Big Bang Theory co-star Johnny Galecki to answer questions about where the show, now into the second half of its 10th season, and not yet renewed for another year, is headed. Galecki told Entertainment Weekly this week that although the show is not yet confirmed for Season 11, the people working behind the scenes are not treating the upcoming episodes as the show’s last, at least not yet.
“We’re very much talking about [the show’s future] right now, and it seems that the writers are very confident and excited that they can write some more after this year, which is an incredible testament to them.
“If they’re confident that they can do more, then I know that we’re still having a great time with it on stage, so hopefully a bit longer.”
Less than two weeks ago, CBS Entertainment president Glenn Gellar told The Hollywood Reporter that contract talks were continuing and that he was “guardedly optimistic” about the show’s future. During the last round of cast negotiations, which locked Parsons, Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco into contracts through to the end of Season 10, the trio reportedly got $1 million per episode for the aging series.
While Parsons spoke to ET Canada about his new radio show — which he said grew out of his tendency to become passionate about things he admitted he didn’t fully understand — he joined his co-star Galecki in expressing a desire to stay with The Big Bang Theory for the long haul. Parsons dismissed the idea he might bolt from the fictional Pasadena apartment building he’s called home for a decade.
“Why would I? Leave all this?”
Parsons’ radio show appears on Andy Cohen’s SiriuxXM channel Radio Andy, and the actor says he’s been studying up. The Big Bang Theory airs Thursday nights on CBS.
[Featured Image by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images]
