Big Bang Theory

Season 10 M-Net (*101) 20:00 Season 6 SABC3 (*193) 21:00 Comedy

Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) plays a huge role in the success of sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007-current). Whether it’s his unashamedly antisocial antics, not letting anyone sit in his spot on the couch or his outlandish routines (like practicing evacuation procedures should Godzilla attack), Sheldon is one of the show’s fan favourites. But he isn’t Jim’s favourite character…

He actually loves Penny (Kaley 1

Cuoco) and Jim says that “Penny and Sheldon don’t always agree on things, but it’s obvious how much they love each other as friends”.

While Sheldon’s all about science, 2

43-year-old Jim revealed that he failed meteorology in college. While he isn’t as clever as his character, Jim does have a lot of smarts and earned his masters degree in classical theatre from the University Of San Diego in 2001.

Something that Sheldon and Jim 3

do share is their home state – Texas. “I lived on the Gulf Coast,” says Jim, adding that “we had hurricanes blowing through all the time.”

The openly gay actor has been 4

dating business art director Todd Spiewak since 2002 and the pair like to mix business with pleasure – they own production company That’s Wonder Productions together. Jim adds that coming out in 2012 wasn’t about making a statement: “I’ve never considered my relationship with Todd to be an act of activism. It’s an act of love, coffee in the morning, going to work, washing clothes – regular, boring love.”

Jim loves tennis and he supports 5 Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard. So how important is Jim to the 6

show? He’s paid $1 million (R13.7m) per episode and there are 24 episodes per season… NB! See more on p34.