Stage, film and television actor Jim Parsons--known to many as "Sheldon" of the CBS hit sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" recently came out quietly in The New York Times. Two-time Emmy winner, Golden Globe and Critics choice winner, this talented actor has joined the ranks of high-profile out, gay men in the entertainment industry. (The LA Times blog has it here.)
I am very proud of Jim. Yes, I know him from Television, and from film, like many of us do. But I also know him a different way. I worked with Jim in theatre in Houston, Texas many years ago. I have written musical numbers for Jim. I have coached him in singing roles. Jim is a friend. And, this is not any news to me.
Follow me over the fold for a little more...
First off, Jim Parsons is an actor's actor. He is one of the most professional actors I have ever worked with on the legit stage. He can nail comedy and drama both. He can sing, act, and dance. He's a real wonder as an actor. Having been the musical director for a number of productions in our old company in Houston, I can say that Jim will do, and can do, just about anything and do it 100 percent.
I wondered for a long time why he didn't come out earlier. I chalked it up to what Hollywood can do to a person who ends up with a fast rise to stardom. But while I really feel it is important for us to come out, and to tell our stories, that is for Jim to do, his decision to make, and now he's doing it.
I am very proud of Jim Parsons. I feel honored to have worked with him "way back when". I am proud of him for respecting his own privacy, and proud of those of us who always knew--and there are so many of us--for letting our friend and colleague Jim make up his own mind about what he will share and what he will not share. But I am especially proud of Jim for coming out, and am so very glad that he has a wonderful partner of a decade, and has the self esteem to declare that--in his own, typically quiet way--offhand and several paragraphs down, in the New York Times.
Jim, if you see this, I tip my hat to you. And never forget: breakfast is the most important meal of the day.