The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons admitted that during the height of his fame, he found himself feeling “stressed” and “miserable.”
Parsons, 53, shot to stardom on the CBS comedy, which ran for 12 seasons and won a swag of awards. But the critically acclaimed actor said he struggled with obsessive habits at the time.
“I look back now and realize that there were many ways, at some of the best moments of my life, I was miserable,” Parsons said in a rare interview on the All Out with Jon Dean podcast. “I was not happy. I was stressed.”
“I felt that there was so many plates I was supposed to be keeping in the air and that the success and the good things of life that were happening were only due to this overworking—discipline and whatever,” Parsons continued. “And maybe to a degree that was true. I don’t know.”
“I can’t say, because that’s how I was,” he added. “But I wouldn’t do that again and for any amount of money... it was stressful and miserable at times. I made myself miserable.”
Parsons explained that the “obsessive behavior” entailed habits that were “OCD in nature.” He also said he was sober for nine years during the filming of the show: a “conscious decision” he made in order to just “focus on the show.”
“I had a list of things basically in my head that I had to get done in order to be comfortable and know that I could do my job right, which I don’t think was true,” he said candidly. The actor explained that during this period, he “missed a lot of life.”
During his tenure on The Big Bang Theory, Parsons won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. For several consecutive years, Forbes named him the highest-paid actor in the world.
On the podcast, Parsons gave a poignant analysis of that period in his life. “In the same way, I can’t go back,” he said. “I don’t know that I would be where I, well, I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I hadn’t had that time of life.
Parsons is currently starring on Broadway in the Celine Dion-scored musical parody Titanique.
