Jim Parsons Gets Emmy Nomination for Big Bang Theory Role

Who is Jim Parsons?

Fans of CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” are a little disappointed that it wasn’t nominated for any 2009 Emmy Awards. However, they are delighted that Jim Parsons, who plays the über-eccentric and painfully socially awkward Sheldon Cooper, has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

His current role has gotten him more attention than any of his previous ones. However, according to IMDB, Jim Parsons started acting when he was in first grade. But it was a long time before he would cash a check for his acting efforts.

A long time coming

Though Jim Parsons started acting at such a young age, he didn’t get his first sitcom role until he was 30. He made a one-time appearance on “Ed.” After he made his break into on-screen acting, he landed a role on “Garden State,” and from there things started picking up. “Garden State,” helped by first-time director and “Scrubs” main character Zach Braff, pulled in $35 million at the box office.

Jim Parsons has been in several feature films including “10 Items or Less” and “School for Scoundrels,” neither of which made a dime after paying off the making of the film. But payday has come for Jim Parsons in a big way.

Steady work

Though only two season of  “The Big Bang Theory” have aired on CBS, a third is confirmed, and Jim Parsons’ Emmy nomination will only help the staying power of the series.

Jim Parsons ability to make his persona believable is indeed impressive. His character Sheldon is obsessive-compulsive and insanely brilliant, but it’s the way Parsons pulls of Sheldon’s utter cluelessness and obviously sheltered past that reels his fans in. A college student who has never had coffee? A man who knows everything about string theory but absolutely nothing about making friends?

Jim Parsons biography

For those of you who want to know more about the man behind Sheldon Cooper (I know I do) here’s are some tidbits from IMDB:

• Was a member of Infernal Bridegroom Productions, a Houston-based theater company.
• Worked for Microsoft Sidewalk in Houston as an assistant for Megan Halverson.
• 1991 graduate of Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas.
• Played a bird in his first school play in elementary school.
• Often panics the day before taping The Big Bang Theory that he will forget his lines.
• Favorite show growing up was Three’s Company.
• Is prone to motion sickness. Riding in a car will make him nauseous so he prefers to drive.

And for those of you who want to know whether his height is some sort of Tom-Cruise-style illusion, he actually is 6-foot-2. He was born in Houston, Texas, in 1973.