While most TV actresses and actors don’t make it more than a decade mark playing the same character, Jim Parson is one of the lauded actors who has, thanks to The Big Bang Theory ending in Season 12. His version of Sheldon Cooper lit up TV screens for ten seasons on CBS, but it apparently didn’t get easier playing the wordy genius over time. In fact, one interesting facet of playing the character had to do with how complicated it is to play a Ph.D and doctor of science with a genius level IQ on TV every week.
While Sheldon was most known for his very short catchphrase “Bazinga” (which was eventually explained in Young Sheldon), a lot of the dialogue the character spurted out had to do with explaining complex science, tossing out lengthy diatribes and opinions on a variety of topics, or generally being long-winded in other ways.
Think lines like, “Ah mimicry, I enjoy mimicry. I’ve been working on Admiral Akbar from Return of the Jedi. It’s a trap! You have to imagine me with a giant squid head. Or once when Penny asked, ‘What’s wrong with Geology?” Sheldon responded, “Let me put this in a way you’ll understand Penny. You remember how you explained to me that the Kardashians aren’t real celebrities? Well, geology is the Kardashians of science.”
So, you get the gist. That little extra Sheldon-ness is difficult to turn into “magic” onscreen, and memorizing Sheldon Cooper’s dialogue wasn’t the easiest for Jim Parsons. I'd assume that's especially true given The Big Bang Theory cast rarely went off script. During an interview with his co-star Mayim Bialik, the two talked about his “magic notecards,” cue cards he apparently made up each week to help him memorize the complex dialogue – both of the “complicated science” and “Sheldon monologue” variety. He said:
During the week I start, I probably have them on me, I do, I make my flashcards. This is Act 1 Scene a, and then there’s my first cue line, it’s from Leonard, there’s the l, it says ‘OK, see you later.’ And then on the back is my line. And I pace around my house and I do drill them like some sort of ballet dancer learning moves. Largely because I don’t understand a lot of what I’m talking about. So I need the muscle memory to be in my mouth, at least, to be ready to go because if I do think about it. a the right words will never occur to me and b. the ones that do will just be wrong.
It sounds like a lot, but that's not even the full process. Jim Parsons went on to explain he'd do "one scene at a time" and sometimes he'd ultimately type out entire swathes of dialogue in order to make sure he had not just the words right but presumably the entire cadence of conversations. The whole thing sounds pretty intense.
I walk around with my note cards for each scene and do one scene at a time. I’ll go to my computer, and I’ll type the whole scene out on my word doc and then I’ll go back and I’ll do the second scene, and I’ll type the whole scene out in a word doc. It’s maddening.
Working a TV gig is not exactly light work. Myriad stars have talked about the grind of filming in the past. A recent example was probably Jenna Ortega, who spoke about the crazy hours she worked for the Disney Channel as a child star. Network TV can run for 22 or more episodes a season, and as one of the most popular TV shows of all time, particularly from Season 4 through Season 12 The Big Bang Theory produced a whopping 24 episodes a season. I can't even imagine how much dialogue that meant the actor learned over time.
The Big Bang Theory may have ended when Jim Parsons decided to leave the show, but he hasn't left Sheldon Cooper behind entirely. He still does voice work for Young Sheldon, which will also be ending with Season 7. At that point, I'd guess the actor will be just fine putting the notecards away, hopefully for good.
