CBS
Jim Parsons really wanted to play Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory,” but his enthusiasm for the role wasn’t enough to make co-creator Chuck Lorre say “Bazinga!” right away. Speaking to the “At Home with the Creative Coalition” podcast, series co-creator Bill Prady revealed that Parsons’ initial audition was so mind-blowing that Lorre feared the actor had peaked too early.
“[Parsons] created that character at that audition,” Prady said. “And he left the room and I turned and I went, ‘That’s the guy! That’s the guy! That’s the guy!’ And Chuck turned and he said, ‘Nah, he’s gonna break your heart. He’ll never give you that performance again.'”
According to Prady, Parsons instantly stood out from other actors who read to play the nerdy theoretical physicist who knocks on doors three times. Lorre’s prediction about Parsons letting him down was wrong, but Prady noted that his colleague is right most of the time. “This may be the only example of where I actually was right,” he said. “Jim Parsons came back in the next day and gave us that exact same performance again. It was like, ‘This is Sheldon.'”
Chuck Lorre recalls Jim Parsons’ Big Bang Theory audition
CBS
Bill Prady’s comments about Chuck Lorre suggest that his colleague wasn’t super sold on Jim Parsons playing Sheldon Cooper early on. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Like Prady, Lorre was blown away by the actor’s performance, but he needed to be sure before he gave him two thumbs up.
“[Jim’s audition] was shocking. It was like, ‘Oh my god,'” Lorre told the Television Academy Foundation (via YouTube). “… I said, ‘Can he come back in and do it again?’ Because I thought maybe it was a fluke of some kind. But it wasn’t — he’s a genius. He’s a comic genius.”
In the end, Parsons got the gig and played Sheldon Cooper until “The Big Bang Theory” ended with Season 12. The character also proved to be so popular that he was given his own spin-off, “Young Sheldon,” which chronicles his childhood growing up in Texas. Parsons narrates the series, and he has an on-screen cameo in the final episode.
