The Big Bang Theory ended with a blast, leaving fans with twelve years of joy and memories to cherish. During its run, the show introduced audiences to some of the most unique characters in television, and there is no better example of this than Sheldon Cooper. With his peculiarity and all of his quirks, his insufferable personality made him a fan favorite for a reason.
During an interview, Jim Parsons revealed the reasoning behind why he decided to leave the show after its 12th season. While many fans were upset that the show had to end, his motivation behind it made it a lot better.
Jim Parsons Knew He Was About To Deal With A Great Loss
During an interview with David Tennant on his podcast, Jim Parsons talked about what pushed him to the decision that 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory was enough for him. One of the first things that he mentioned was about a contract that he signed after the tenth season. The entire cast signed an agreement that they would be on for two more seasons and the future of the series would be seen after that.
Our final contract was for the last two years, but no one knew when we signed it what that would mean. I kind of had a suspicion in my heart that that was going to be it for me when I did sign that contract, but you never say never and who knows?
He mentioned that after signing this contract, he had a weird feeling that he would not be continuing his role in the series afterward. Interestingly enough, he was faced with a sudden realization about someone quite close to him.
I was exhausted, and I was really upset about, more than anything, one of our dogs was getting really at the end of his life around then.
The actor confessed that after the tenth season, he was faced with the terrifying reality that his dog was growing old. Realizing that someone who meant a great deal to him was reaching the final years of his life affected Parsons greatly.
An Injury Forced Jim Parsons To Face His Mortality
While the age of his dog did not affect Parsons significantly enough to quit a beloved series and leave, there was one other thing that was happening around the same time that affected him greatly. While working on 2020’s Boys in the Band, which was being made at the same time that The Big Bang Theory was working on its twelfth season, the actor was seriously injured.
Suffering a foot injury and being forced to deal with it for a few days seemed to have seriously impacted Parsons’s mental well-being, revealing that he was forced to question a lot in his life, including his role as Sheldon Cooper.
It was the scariest moment for the next couple of days because I didn’t know — I felt like I was at the edge of a cliff, and I was teetering, and I saw something really dark below between the death of the dog, and I don’t know what they would have done if I couldn’t have gotten back on for the play.
Watching his dog slip away in front of his eyes, while he also sustained an injury at work, took the actor to a very dark place.
The Passing of a Loved One Made Jim Parsons Leave The Big Bang Theory
While his dog’s old age and his foot injury certainly did affect his thoughts about being a part of The Big Bang Theory for long, it was something a lot more traumatic that pushed Jim Parsons to decide to leave. During the interview, the actor revealed that his father was 52 years old when he passed away.
I had this moment of clarity that I think you’re very fortunate to get in a lot of ways, of going ‘Don’t keep speeding by.’ You know? ‘Use this time to take a look around,’
When the 12th and final season of the series was being made, Parsons was 46 years old. Having had a realization that he still had a lot more that he wanted to do with his life, he decided to try new things and, unfortunately for many fans, cut ties with the show. He further revealed how he ended up telling the creator, Chuck Lorre, and the showrunner, Steven Molaro, about his decision.
If you told me that like my father, I had six years left to live, I think there’s other things I need to try and do.
He simply told them that if he was told that he had only six more years to live, he would want to spend it gaining more life experiences rather than continuing something he had been a part of for 12 years. While fans may be upset that the show had to end, the way that it did was beautiful in every way possible.
The Big Bang Theory is available for streaming on Netflix.
