Jim Parsons reveals the emotional series of events that led to his ‘Big Bang Theory’ departure

Ever since one of the world’s biggest comedies, The Big Bang Theory, announced it was ending with its 12th and final season in 2019, fans have wondered why Jim Parsons—the guy who won four Emmys for playing the role of Sheldon Cooper and made many millions of dollars along the way—walked away.At the time the actor penned an emotional letter to fans on Instagram explaining why he felt it was time to move on, despite the rest of the cast seemingly eager to carry on with more seasons. But now, thanks to a new podcast with actor David Tennant, fans know more of the story and what really drove Parsons’ emotional decision to exit.“It was a complicated road as you can imagine,” Parsons revealed on David Tennant Does a Podcast With… “I mean in retrospect it wasn’t, it was just happening before my eyes. Our final contract was for the last two years but no one knew when we signed it what that would mean. I kind of had a suspicion in my heart that that was going to be it for me when I did sign that contract. But you never say never and who knows.”

 

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So, David Tennant (@davidtennantofficiall ) does a podcast (@davidtennantpod )- that’s also what it’s called, “David Tennant Does a Podcast,” and he does it really well. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and my episode goes live today - it’s the first ep of his season two. I cannot recommend the episode I did as the idea of listening to myself sounds a little torturous, a great deal ego maniacal and, frankly, I’ve heard enough out of myself in quarantine for the last 22 weeks... but i CAN heartily recommend every other episode they’ve done - they’re all truly insightful and entertaining - I especially enjoyed the ones with Tina Fey and Olivia Coleman. So... at least listen to THOSE episodes! ? ? ?‍♀️ ? ?

A post shared by Jim Parsons (@therealjimparsons) on Aug 11, 2020 at 6:51am PDT

On the podcast, Parsons recalls filming the show’s 11^th season as per usual, but then that summer he had signed on to do the Broadway show The Boys in the Band alongside Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and Andrew Rannells. (The guys all reprise their roles for the upcoming feature film). As Parsons was wrapping up his sitcom he was rehearsing for the play. Then the day after the Big Bang finale filmed, the actor flew to New York, where he picked up tech rehearsals with the rest of the crew the next day. Four days later they did their first preview. Still, things were fine until Parsons’ first official day off, which was six days later.And how did he celebrate? By shooting a commercial for Intel. “I was exhausted and I was really upset about more than anything one of our dogs was getting really at the end of his life around then,” Parsons revealed. “And I’ll never forget that walk around the park to let him go to the bathroom before we went to the commercial shoot. He just looked so bad and I was so tired… I just started crying. It makes me upset now,” he added, tearing up. “I was like, this dog’s going to die while I’m off working and I feel so bad. Talk about triggers.”

 

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Otis October 31, 2003 - May 8, 2018 Otis came into our lives as an 8-week-old puppy just after Todd and I had been together for 1 year. We were living in Brooklyn, NY, which is where Otis learned to take walks on a leash and, in doing so, got socialized to other dogs - which he liked - and to other people - which he LOVED. Otis loved people, loved seeing people and seemed to brim with an expectation that they would all be equally thrilled to see him. Otis thought all visitors to our home should be there to stay and he would bark in a near-panic as soon as the first hints of “goodbye” were uttered (this was true whether the visitor was a close friend or even an electrician, handyman, etc). One of Otis’s favorite places to sit was my lap and as soon as my butt hit a chair or a couch, Otis would hop on board; Otis wasn’t just comfortable on my lap, he also needed me to know that he owned me - and he did. And still does. Todd and I were truly blessed by the universe to have Otis at our sides for over 14 1/2 years of the over 15 1/2 years we have been together. As such, he was and will remain a major part of who we are as a family. Todd wrote some beautiful words about Odi that I am going to repost here, just after I post this. We will always miss you terribly, Otis, but are so grateful you came into our lives.

A post shared by Jim Parsons (@therealjimparsons) on May 11, 2018 at 6:22am PDT

Parsons explains that he went on to shoot the commercial and then went back to the play the next day, but that night his dog had a really bad seizure and he and his husband Todd Spiewak made the decision to put him down. “So that happened Tuesday. And as you can tell it really upset me. Still does,” Parsons said, fighting back more tears. “So I went back to the show, I did Wednesday the two shows, and I did Thursday, and then I did Friday, and I did the Saturday matinee and I had one more show Saturday night. I was in the Saturday matinee and I kept thinking, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get to the end of this performance.’ I was just so beaten down. But I did. I did. And I walked out for curtain call, one more show that night, I walked out for curtain call and I slipped and I broke my foot.”Parsons did that evening’s show with a boot on his foot and he was able to finish off the run of the show that summer too. But he was in a dark place. “It was the scariest moment for the next couple of days because I felt like I was at the edge of a cliff, and I was teetering and I saw something really dark below,” he told Tennant. That led to an ultimate moment of “fortunate” clarity, and Parsons ultimately realized that he had to stop “speeding by” and that he needed to really look around. When he did he knew he needed to make a move. “Bottom line was it was a really intense summer,” he explained.That rough summer, as well as thoughts about his late father who had passed away at the age of 52, led Parsons to leave the show that had made him famous. “I’m not superstitious or anything like that, it’s just a context thing,” Parsons explained of his father’s death, pointing out that he would be 46 years old by the time Big Bang’s 12th season wrapped. “If you told me that like my father I had six years left to live I think there’s other things I need to try and do. And I don’t even know what they are but I can tell that I need to try,” he added, trying to control his emotions. “I cannot believe this is the way this podcast has started for me, I really can’t. I’ll blame quarantine.”[video_embed id='2012684']Before you go: Ruby Rose opens up about why she left ‘Batwoman’[/video_embed]