2003–2006: Early roles in 2002 In New York, Parsons worked in
Off-Broadway productions and made several television appearances. In a 2003
Quiznos commercial, Parsons played a man who had been raised by wolves and continued to nurse from his wolf "mother". and appeared on the television series
Ed.
2007–2019: The Big Bang Theory and theatre roles Parsons has estimated that he auditioned for between 15 and 30 television pilots, but on many of the occasions when he was cast, the show failed to find a television network willing to purchase it. Parsons was nominated for
Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, winning in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In September 2010, Parsons and co-stars
Johnny Galecki and
Kaley Cuoco signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $200,000 per episode for the fourth season of
The Big Bang Theory, with substantial raises for each of the next three seasons. The three were also promised a percentage of the show's earnings. In January 2011, Parsons won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy. From August 2013, Parsons, Cuoco and Galecki each earned $325,000 per episode. In August 2014, Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco once again signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $1 million per episode for the eighth, ninth, and tenth seasons of
The Big Bang Theory, as well as quadrupling their percentage of the show's earnings to over 1% each. , Jim Parsons, and
Barack Obama at
DreamWorks Animation Studios in 2015 In 2011, Parsons appeared with
Jack Black,
Owen Wilson,
Steve Martin, and
Rashida Jones in the comedy film
The Big Year. It was released in October. That same year, he appeared as the human alter ego of
Walter, the newest Muppet introduced in
The Muppets. On May 18, 2012, Parsons began appearing on Broadway as
Elwood P. Dowd in a revival of
Harvey. He reprised the role in
The Normal Heart (2014), and he received his seventh Emmy nomination, this time in the category of
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Parsons received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 11, 2015. He voiced Oh, one of the lead roles in the
DreamWorks Animation comedy film
Home (2015), alongside
Rihanna. Parsons and Todd Spiewak founded That's Wonderful Productions in 2015 with the intention of raising distinct voices and producing work with an underlying sense of purpose and social consciousness. Their work includes
Special,
Equal,
Call Me Kat and
A Kid Like Jake. Parsons and Spiewak are also Executive Producers of
Young Sheldon. On January 29, 2015, it was announced that Parsons would star as God in the Broadway production of
An Act of God, a new play by
David Javerbaum and directed by
Joe Mantello. The play began previews at
Studio 54 on May 5, 2015 and closed August 2, 2015, to positive reviews. In 2016, Jim Parsons played a supporting role as STG (special task group) head engineer Paul Stafford in the biographical drama film
Hidden Figures. The film was directed by
Theodore Melfi, who had previously worked with Parsons in commercials for
Intel. In 2017, Parsons started hosting his own SiriusXM talk show,
Jim Parsons Is Too Stupid for Politics. The show ran for six weeks. In August 2018, Parsons announced his refusal of a contract worth $50 million for seasons 13 and 14 of
The Big Bang Theory. The producers simultaneously announced that, after 279 episodes, the most of any multi-camera series in TV history, the show would come to an "epic, creative close" in May 2019. Parsons was expected to remain in his role as narrator of the prequel series,
Young Sheldon. In 2018, Parsons was one of the actors who voiced the audiobook
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. Parsons starred as party host Michael in the 50th anniversary Broadway production of
The Boys in the Band, which won the 2019
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, reprising his performance (with the whole Broadway anniversary cast) in the
2020 film adaptation.
2020–present: Return to theatre In 2020, he portrayed
Henry Willson in the
Ryan Murphy limited series
Hollywood on
Netflix. He also served as an executive producer. For his performance he was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In 2022 he portrayed
Michael Ausiello in the romantic comedy
Spoiler Alert distributed by
Focus Features. He acted in the revival of
Terrence McNally's
A Man of No Importance at the
Classic Stage Company. He starred in
Paula Vogel's new play
Mother Play (2024) acting alongside
Jessica Lange and
Celia Keenan-Bolger. He starred as the Stage Manager in the revival of the
Thorton Wilder play
Our Town at the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre. ==Personal life==