Jim Parsons reveals that he auditioned to be on NBC’s The Office before career-making run on The Big Bang Theory
Jim Parsons minted his fame as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, but had previously auditioned to be on the NBC program The Office.
The Houston native, 47, made the revelation in a media call to promote his Fox show Call Me Kat on Tuesday, but didn’t specify which character he tried out for.
Parsons said he underrated how successful the show would be before it hit the air in 2005, four years after the English version it was adapted from.
The latest: Jim Parsons, 47, said he had auditioned to be on the NBC program The Office
‘I was like, “How stupid, it’s about an office – if America wanted their own office show, they would have already made it by now,”‘ said The Boys in the Band star actor, according to Deadline.
The Office went on to run on ABC from 2005 until 2013, helping cement a number of careers for stars Steve Carell, Mindy Kaling, John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson, among others. It garnered critical acclaim with wins at the Emmys and has since gone on to streaming success via Netflix.
Parsons’ career hasn’t slouched either, as he was a cast member on the The Big Bang Theory for 12 seasons.
He’s currently collaborating with one of his costars Mayim Bialik on the series Call Me Kat – which, like The Office, is adapted from a British show called BBC Miranda.
Parsons said he underrated how successful the show would be before it hit the air in 2005, four years after the English version it was adapted from
Big hit: The Office went on to run on ABC from 2005 until 2013, helping cement a number of careers for stars including Steve Carell
Parsons, who is also an executive producer on the show, along with husband Todd Spiewak, said he’s encouraged by early results.
‘I’m watching the rehearsals, I’m watching the tapings and I’m watching the shows and I’m like “this works,”‘ he said. ‘I don’t know if thousands of other people will like it, but it’s good.’
Parsons in May of 2018 hailed his Big Bang Theory castmates in an Instagram post along with a shot in which he posed with costars Bialik, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar and Melissa Rauch.
‘I am so terribly grateful for the cast in this picture and the cast members who aren’t pictured here – whether they were in one scene or many episodes along the way; you are all my playmates that I have fallen in love with and who have become a part of my life on set and off,’ he said.
Stalwart: Parsons was a cast member on the The Big Bang Theory for 12 seasons
He continued: ‘You are my playmates when we don’t feel like playing but have to because it’s our job to get out there and communicate and pretend we’re these other fictional people and we look into each other’s eyes and say these words and end up creating this weird, other reality that has enriched my life more than I will fully ever understand.
‘I will miss all of you and all of this more than I can say and more than I can know at this time.’