If you had any doubt that geek culture has taken over, check out the numbers for The Big Bang Theory. The writing celebrates our obsession with The Green Lantern, reminds us that we are not the only ones who can say hello in Klingon and keeps us laughing at ourselves. Even the Emmys have taken notice.
I just spoke with Emmy Award nominated actor Jim Parsons, who plays socially awkward -- but eminently loveable -- theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper. Parsons tells us his theory on why the show is such a hit, when and if love will come to Sheldon and working with co-star Kaley Cuoco. "She's a wonderful verbal dancing partner," he says, though he tells us he is far better at bussing tables. He also gives us a sneak peek at this week's episode. Hint: It involves a ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese.
IGN: I love the show and I watch every week. And I keep thinking about all the people who said the sitcom was dead. You guys seem to have completely revived it. What do you think it is about the show that turned an entire show style on its ear?Jim Parsons: Well for one thing, I don't think there is any reinventing of a wheel going on here. You know what I mean? I don't think anybody's trying to do anything around here that is in any way changing the old school of thought with the traditional multi-camera sitcom. And that may be one of the biggest things we have going in our favor. We're trying to simply execute as well as possible, a format that's been around. That's been related to live theater.
My thing, and I've always said this, and I'm not trying to defer attention or anything like that, is the writing....I've heard it said that it's a writer's medium, and I completely believe that...and in our case specifically, we only have what they bring. [laughs] We can only play with what they've written, as it were. And we're in a very fortunate circumstance where what they're writing is sincerely funny, you know? And maybe 'sincere' is sort of the key word there. There is a great sincerity in what we're doing here...in deference to the format itself. We're trying to do nothing that different than anything that's been done before. But we're trying to do it as best we can.
читать дальшеAnd then to these characters... We're trying to be as sincere with them and their situations as we can. Yes, sometimes you'll have a laugh at their expense, but more often than not, you only buy yourself that opportunity because, more often than not, we're celebrating these characters. The writers and the actors all have a sincere affection for these characters. Because they're so fun to play. They have so many wonderful and fun qualities about them.
IGN: You mentioned celebrating the characters. You guys have been so embraced by geek culture. I think it's not just the terms that you use, etc. I think it's that you guys have such a great affection for your characters.
Parsons: Absolutely. I think that's completely true.
IGN: You must get asked constantly about how geeky you are. I'd read about your Star Wars figures and how you want an invitation to Hogwarts...
Parsons: Right.
IGN: Do you guys ever feel pressure...I mean, the geeks have sort of made you their standard bearers.
Parsons: I don't and it may be blissful ignorance on my part. Or it's just not affecting me. But I really don't. What's funny is, some of their more geekish, nebbish, fanboy qualities, if you will, which I can see on the surface what a big part of the picture we're painting, they are. And so much of the humor has come from that, and so much of who they are in a day to day way. But I have to say, in the playing of it and in the feeling behind it, it seems so secondary. I don't know. I feel like, in some ways, these people would be who they are, almost entirely, even if they didn't have any of those qualities. If they didn't read comic books. If they weren't Star Trek and Battlestar fans, or whatever. It's a happy side bar. It's extra colors that are laid on top of these really, really smart guys. And I guess that's it. At the end of the day, when it comes back to square one, the heart of the story is that we're dealing with four geniuses. To varying degrees. I think Sheldon is probably the smartest. [laughs]
IGN: I was thinking about some of your more complex lines, and I had read that the writing really helps you, but that you do sit down with notecards. I'd also read that you play piano. I'm wondering if being a musician helps you memorize. You really do have a rhythm to your speech.
Parsons: I feel like it must. I do think of the scenes and this dialogue very specifically in a musical way. And it's much more self conscious, I have to say. I am able to consciously realize that I'm doing it. The way that they're writing this, and it's what I felt from day one with this...it wasn't the story that grabbed me, though it was lovely. And it wasn't even the characters themselves as far as who made them what they are. When I first saw the audition sides for this show, I really wanted to leap at the opportunity to get to execute this dialogue. And it was all about the rhythms they put in there. And one of the things the writers are so good at is utilizing, not just scientific terms, but especially in the case of Sheldon, just so many damn words in general, but putting them in a format that has a song to it.
I think there is a musicality to any conversation in general. Some a bit more melodic than others, depending who you're talking to. [laughs] It's most especially accentuated here. It's definitely highlighted, maybe in any comedy. But most certainly in this one, I think. And it's one of the great joys. And it's one of the ways in which, as an actor, in this show at least, I know when something is not going right. Nine times out of ten I'm right about it. Because suddenly you can't access the rhythm. And either they're about to rewrite something that's going to make it fall into place...or you've got more days of rehearsal and suddenly you're going to feel it...I frequently say, 'That scene sings like a song.'
You know, Chuck (Lorre) was a musician who wrote songs and at least one Top 40 hit for Blondie, I believe. I think any comedy writer has a certain rhythm and I think that Chuck, specifically, has a very...[laughs]...he knows how to make the twenty-two minutes of television play by in the right way. I think it's the reason that his shows repeat so well in audience numbers. Because I feel like the stories are good and the things you discover the first time you watch the stories are lovely. But perhaps its best quality is that the episode itself goes by like a song. Even if you know what's going to happen because you've seen it once or twice before, it's still so much fun to watch. And I think that has to do with the rhythm of it. It's like a favorite song. You know the song, you know where it's going, but it's still enjoyable because you like hearing certain notes hit. You like hearing certain rhythms hit.
IGN: I agree. This is a show I would want on DVD, because it really is something I'd watch over and over again.
Parsons: Thank you, first. And secondly, I agree with you. As much as I'm able to say that without sounding like a complete snot. [laughs] It just turns into a really good time. And that's not to take away any stories or depth that's actually there. It's all there and it's all good. But at the end of the day, what makes it repeatable...it's fun.
IGN: One of the things fans have reacted to the most are the scenes between you and Penny (Kaley Cuoco). What is it about your chemistry?
Parsons: Well, I think what it was bred of, coming into the first season, and especially hitting its stride in the second season is that...they are the North and South poles of...all five regular characters on this show. I don't know which is which. [laughs] They're just polar opposites. She's so earth bound. She is our everyman...and Sheldon is the most heady of the characters. The most, I don't want to say without his feet on the ground, but in the truest sense of the word, his life, his existence is absorbed in his head. I think that is the biggest ingredient of it. No matter what you do at that point with your characters, it's going to be a good time, because they're polar opposites.
But then I have to say, I had never worked with Kaley before I did this show, and we started doing these scenes together, and for whatever reason, I just...it's such a satisfying time working with her. It is, aah. I can't put my finger on it, always. But me, as Jim, I have such a good time working with her as Kaley, the actress. And speaking to her through these characters' voices and having her speak back is just...to bring it back to the music thing again, it's a wonderful dance. [laughs] She's a wonderful verbal dancing partner.
IGN: Another thing people have really responded to are the scenes with Sheldon's mom (Laurie Metcalf). Will we see any more of that this season?
Parsons: I certainly hope so. [laughs] You have to take the good with the bad, I guess is what it is. The reason I think the scenes are so damn good is because Laurie is such a gifted actress. The problem you have, working with a gifted actress is that she's always working. So both her and Christine Baranski...it's hard to find available times for them! [laughs] Because they're so good, everyone wants to use them in some way. So I really feel like a combination of whether a storyline occurs to the writers and is she available for it...she certainly knows her way around acting in general and certainly she has done plenty of the half hour work in TV as well. She just couldn't be an easier fit when she comes over here. She's just a good person, you know?
IGN: You know everyone wants to know if you think Sheldon will ever find love.
Parsons: Yeah...I want to guess yes, but I honestly don't hold out a lot of hope. The reason is very specific. I've been part of panel discussions with Chuck Lorre. With Bill Prady. And they have professed that...if these characters change at all, it's going to be very slow. At the rate of watching paint dry. And...I've heard Chuck say this a few times, he has a real aversion to...I think he views Sheldon finding love or the desire for Sheldon to find love as a bit of an attempt to normalize Sheldon. And see the more normal side of Sheldon and oh, he is like us. [laughs] He's very interested in continuing to celebrate how different Sheldon is than the general populace. And he really likes exploring this version of Sheldon, where Sheldon has essentially kind of opted out of the romance scene. He's not taking time for it. In fact, he's kind of deemed it something that for him, at this point, is sort of a waste of time. There is so much more for him to do, he sees, specifically in science in this case, but whatever.
I hear what he's saying and I actually love what he's saying. And I love making those odd choices, those smallest percentile of the populace choices for Sheldon. But I don't think everybody necessarily wants to see Sheldon normalized. I think that they've done such a wonderful job of creating a character that people have a fondness for. And I think wanting to see Sheldon find love is the same thing as wanting to see Sheldon taken care of in some way. Someone to help him along through things that he obviously stubs his toe through, socially...but that brings me back to why I don't think it will happen. It's half the fun of playing this character...all the situations where he is on his own and he is clueless. It's such a dichotomy. He's a genius and then to get to go through those circumstances where he is clueless...using his big brain for every possibility and just failing, failing. [laughs] Failure has never been so fun.
IGN: I also think that those moments where Sheldon does something sweet for Penny...I think they have more impact if you don't have him doing that for a girlfriend all the time.
Parsons: Yeah. I would agree with you. It does add a lot of weight to it. They've done such a good job of executing, and I feel, letting play this Penny and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) relationship...they did go against the traditional format in this way. We're not hanging on 'will they, won't they.' No. They're doing it. Let's see what happens. And as far as that relates to giving Sheldon any romantic interest, I think it opens...for the reasons we just said, and others...a much bigger can of worms. And you have to be prepared, I think, as writers and a cast if you're going to dive into that. You can't short change yourselves or anybody else. You can't go in and go, 'Ooh, this isn't working,' and hit reverse as fast as you can with the storyline. I think there is a lot more ground to cover that doesn't require us to jump in there just yet.
But what the hell do I know? I'll be honest with you. I never know what story they're going to deliver. I will not know next week's story...we're going to go on hiatus after tonight. We will come in for a table read on Wednesday morning, and it will be Tuesday night at nine o'clock at night before I even get sight of the next sсript. [laughs] They won't tell me a thing. Unless they need to ask me something for my safety, like, 'Are you able to ride a unicycle?' Which they have asked. And I said, 'No, but I'm willing to learn.' It never came up again. That was over a year ago. I'm grateful. [laughs] I've heard it's dangerous.
IGN: Yeah! I would think so! [laughs]
Parsons: How could it not be?
IGN: And I hear you're diving through balls in Chuck E. Cheese in the next episode.
Parsons: Yes, and might I say, it was one of the finest ideas the writers have had. Such a simple thing. But it goes back to what I said about the science. Wow! We can end up there. I won't tell you how we end up there exactly. But it's through science that we end up at Chuck E. Cheese in a bunch of balls. [laughs] I had so much fun doing that scene. It wasn't easy! I was really surprised at the lung power it took to fight your way through a ball pit like that. It felt very much like swimming but there was a lot more, it felt like to me, a lot more force to get through to do that. It was very fun. Very colorful.
IGN: [laughs] I hear you also bus tables at The Cheesecake Factory?
Parsons: Yes. And may I say that Jim as an actor is better at doing that than Kaley as an actress?
IGN: Really?
Parsons: Yes! I had those plates on my arms and I said it out loud one day. I didn't even think about it. 'Better than Kaley.' [laughs] And you know...it took me longer in life to hit success than Kaley, so perhaps I had more opportunities to perfect dishes on arms and stuff like that. I don't know.