Before ending his stint in The Big Bang Theory on a high note, Jim Parsons’ commitment to the character, especially in the early seasons, ended up taking a major toll on the actor’s health. Even though Parsons had no issues related to his weight prior to heading into TBBT’s production, the actor willingly resorted to an extremely restrictive low-carb diet in order to become more healthy.
Moreover, the actor also dropped drinking alcohol for nine years, despite not having any history of alcohol abuse. However, his devotion backfired as the seasons progressed, and if it wasn’t Mayim Bialik, things might’ve continued to worsen.
Mayim Bialik’s Inclusion Made Room for Some Much-Needed Relaxation for Jim Parsons
Following his commitment to the intense diet, which continued to aggravate as the show progressed, Jim Parsons was struggling both mentally and physically. At one point, the Spoiler Alert star’s weight loss sent the crew into distress, as Parsons recalled:
There were certain years we were worried about Jim because he started getting really skinny and was just clearly stressed out because the role itself, not just the fame, became very, very challenging
While the “jargon-y monologues”, which were written for him, kept on elevating the pressure on the actor, things started to shift for the better once Mayim Bialik was introduced into the mix.
With Season 4 no longer relying completely on Parsons’ shoulder for rapid-fire scientific monologues, the acclaimed actor was able to relax a bit.
I became more relaxed with the process and more willing to go into certain scenes on a tape night not having quite the at-home rehearsal time behind me that I spent the first many years going through
With Parsons’ health no longer in jeopardy, The Boys in the Band star continued to flourish for the remainder of the sitcom, until retiring from the character in 2019.
Jim Parsons Was Glad About Returning From Retirement for Young Sheldon
Although the actor made it clear he has no plans to play a character in the same capacity as Sheldon in TBBT, he did return from his retirement for one last hurrah in the Young Sheldon finale.
On asked about reprising the role for the brief cameo, Parsons revealed that he was a little hesitant at first, but thanks to the beautiful writing, getting a second closure became a gift for the actor.
I felt a slight hesitancy when they first asked, just as I thought, ‘I don’t really want to go revisit the character.’ But the way that they wrote it was, I thought, so beautiful that it ended up being like this little extra coda or whatever to my experience with the character… It was this gift of a second layer of losing it out in a way that I had never seen coming
As for his future, the Home star shared that he wants to be surprised, stressing that he is craving for new experiences in his career.
The Big Bang Theory is available to stream on Max.
