After shooting to fame as the nerdy Sheldon Cooper in hit US sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Jim Parsons was left worried about publicly coming out as gay during the height of his fame.
He was earning an eye-watering $300,000 per episode by season eight of the hit show, and reportedly scooped an impressive $27.5million in one year.
The actor, who has since appeared in everything from romantic flick Spoiler Alert to racy period drama Hollywood, kept his love life on the down-low for several years before going public with any romances.
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On-screen, his character Sheldon was known for his awkward but sweet relationship with fellow nerd Amy – after years of being single on the show.
But Jim’s real life is a lot different, and he tied the knot with his co-star husband in 2017.
Daily Star takes a peek into the actor’s real love life away from the cameras as he turns 50 years old.
Growing up gay
Growing up in Houston, Texas, the actor struggled with his sexuality – confessing that the very sight of Pride parades “frightened” him.
He told Variety in 2019: “The sight of pride parades frightened me, because I knew that there were plenty of people around me — whether they were in my life or I just was aware of them — that derided this show of pride.”
He went as far as to avoid gay-friendly neighbourhoods when he moved to New York as an adult, confessing: “My only feelings were, I’m going to avoid that area of town because I don’t like crowds.”
It was only after meeting his now husband that Jim came out to his family.
The star also confessed that he knew his mum would be “worried” for him growing up in the Bible Belt, confessing to David Tennant on his podcast: “I mean, I could feel it off her, and maybe she even said it to different degrees, of like, ‘How would it work to be a successful actor… pay your bills with it, and be gay?’”
Coming out fears
Jim Parsons fretted about what coming out would do to The Big Bang Theory’s reputation.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I was scared. I wasn’t scared about losing my job. And I wasn’t scared to the point of denying my sexuality. But I was scared enough to make it my mission not to talk about it.
“I was scared enough to be nervous the first time I was even nominated for the Emmy. And I was scared that it might cause trouble, quote unquote, for our big television show.”
But in 2012, Jim accidentally came out during an interview.
Chatting to a New York Times journalist after his Broadway show The Normal Heart, he was asked: “Was it more meaningful to be a part of The Normal Heart being gay?” and answered yes.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I remember leaving there going, well, I sort of just took the back door out, as it were. I remember thinking it was kind of poetically perfect.”
The actor later learned to “take ownership” of his coming out story.
Co-star hubby
In 2017, Jim married the man of his dreams – his Young Sheldon co-star Todd Spiewak.
Todd works as a producer on the spin-off show, which Jim has reprised his role as Sheldon in for 120 episodes.
The pair have been together for more than 20 years, after meeting through mutual friends. In 2002 they headed on their first date to a gay bar and sang karaoke together, with Jim explaining: “As we said goodbye, I knew we would be seeing each other again – which ended up being two nights later, when we went to see Michael Moore’s ‘Bowling for Columbine’ at the Union Square AMC.”
The pair tied the knot at the Rainbow Room in New York City in 2017, with Jim confessing of their romance: “When we first got together, I remember lying in bed and closing my eyes but not being asleep. And that sensation of ‘light’.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on exactly, but it’s sort of close to eternal.’”
Cheekily discussing their day-to-day routine, Jim confessed on the HFPA in Conversation podcast: “I can’t schedule anything without Todd. It’s not my part of the relationship.
“If I schedule something on my own, say, ‘Yes, I will do that interview at one o’clock that day,’ inevitably he has to go behind me and go, ‘No, Jim, can’t do that that day. We’ve got whatever’.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk