James+Mottram

他生在一个普通的家庭，没有显赫的家世。他与许多演员一样，参加过无数次试镜，跑过各种龙套。到了三十而立的年纪，他仍旧是一个无名小卒。直到“谢耳朵”的诞生，已经34岁的他才被世人熟知。很多人都不敢相信，这位有着一张娃娃脸的搞笑怪咖如今已经年过四旬。对许多人来说，谢耳朵或许比吉姆·帕森斯这个名字更出名。诚然，谢耳朵一角成就了吉姆·帕森斯的今天。但谁又能保证，没有吉姆·帕森斯，谢耳朵还会是那个招人烦又惹人爱的谢耳朵？岁月，没有在他的脸上留下苍老的痕迹。年龄，也未曾阻止他继续前行的脚步。未来，相信会给他一个更璀璨多彩的世界。

It's the morning after the night before1）. Zach Braff2） has the word "BALLS" inked3） on his forehead. Peter Sarsgaard is bare-chested. And a little-known Jim Parsons is dressed in a knight's armour， eating a bowl of Lucky Charms4）. The film is Garden State. Braff's directorial debut5） from 2004. Appearing in just one scene， Parsons is a party guest—arriving straight from work at a medieval themed restaurant. Oh， and he speaks Klingon6）.

"I loved that scene. It was just right up my alley7），" smiles Parsons. "Ten years later I look back and go， 'That was the most spoiling experience for a start-up movie you could have！'" More to the point， a decade on， Parsons has become one of America's most beloved sitcom8） stars， playing Dr. Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory—a Caltech theoretical physicist with an eidetic9） memory， an IQ of 187， and an ability to speak Klingon at will10）.

With the show about to start its eighth season in the autumn， it's already seen Parsons win a Golden Globe and four Emmys， turning him into one of the highest paid comedy stars of his generation. But it's about more than just trinkets11） and trophies， thanks to Parsons' affectionate portrayal of a super-nerd who loves DC Comics， Battlestar Galactica and action figures.

In an era when superheroes and sci-fi dominate the box office， the popularity of The Big Bang Theory proves that Sheldon and his flatmates are not quite the social outcasts they were styled as when the show started back in 2007. They're the Friends for our generation.

Now， Parsons is back in Braff's second film as director， thirtysomething12） dramedy13） Wish I Was Here. In the story， Braff plays Aidan， a struggling actor whose life collapses when his father announces he has cancer. Parsons is Paul， a fellow actor who meets Aidan at the ritualistic14） humiliation that is the audition process—something Parsons， like all actors， knows only too well.

"It resonated very strongly，" he nods， "and I think it was very evident that this was a scene written by an actor； that entire waiting room scene—waiting to go in， and sitting beside your competition， is something that you are either born comfortable with or learn to be comfortable with very early on ... or you have to get out of the career！ Hearing somebody murmuring the lines under their breath， saying the words you're going to have to say ... It's a very interesting experience."endprint

Raised in Houston， the son of an elementary school teacher and the president of a local plumbing15） company， Parsons determined to become an actor at the age of six—when he played a bird in a school production of Kipling's16） The Elephant's Child. Still， his love of acting "ebbed17） and flowed" during his school years. He even briefly toyed with18） the idea of being a weatherman， taking a year away from acting in college as he learned storm fronts19）.

Yet being a weatherman was not to be； he failed the course and realised he had to return to acting—or he'd regret it. "I had a vision of becoming a bitter， middle-aged man！" But how to go about it？ Working for an experimental theatre company in Houston， he was making ends meet20） in day jobs "to support my acting habit"—but there weren't enough full-time opportunities. "I was never brave enough to throw my knapsack on my back and head to New York or even L.A."

Eventually， he took a master's in classical theatre at the University of San Diego before he headed to New York—a world of off-Broadway plays， commercials， TV bit parts21）， and those endless rounds of auditions. He can still remember the horror-shows—accidentally knocking out the power switch while trying out for a Martin McDonagh play—but he's never been fearful. "The one way I always feel about auditions， or certainly try to， is a mantra22） of： 'This could be my one chance to play this role.'"

In the case of The Big Bang Theory， Parsons aced it23） so convincingly that co-creator Chuck Lorre asked him to return the next day to ensure it wasn't a fluke24）. He admits there was something in Sheldon he understood： the inability to read sarcasm or emotions. He sighs when asked if he shares any of Sheldon's more nerdy behavioural tropes25）. "Oh God ... I'm sure I'm nerdy in some ways， but more than being nerdy， I'm old！" Now 41， he likes to go to bed early. "As far as partying and going out goes， I don't even have the remotest desire！"

Actually， Parsons is far less socially awkward than Sheldon. He talks freely， eruditely26）， and in detail—everything from his recent trip to Wimbledon， supporting his "e-mail buddy"， Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard， to his magnificent cameo27） in The Muppets， playing the piano during the performance of "Man or Muppet".

Yet he clearly adores Sheldon， a character that fits him as closely as his Green Lantern T-shirt. "One of the questions people love to ask is 'What do you want for Sheldon？' I have no wants for him. I open the script every week and， yeah， sure some episodes are more interesting to me than others， but as an overall character arc28）， I have never felt like I'm tired of playing the same thing."endprint

Calling himself "a sucker29）"， he's already preparing for the maelstrom30） of emotions that will surface when the show finishes. "It's hard to imagine， knowing the end is coming and letting it come and feeling ... certainly not a sense of remorse ... I don't know if lose is the right word either. Organic death？ That's the best way I can put it， if things go well！ That's what it will be. For something that has already affected my life to a huge degree. I may have a life outside of the show， but this has had an enormous impact upon me either way. And that will be sad."

The question is： how do you escape a character like Sheldon？ Even Braff's film contains an oblique31） nod—when Paul winds up trying out for just the sort of sci-fi Sheldon would love. So he's not worried about typecasting32）？ "Yes and no，" he says， cautiously. "I'm not looking to play another scientist， or genius or even probably another Star Trek fanatic33） at this point. That being said， I was charmed by the idea of playing somebody [in Wish I Was Here] who was dabbling in34） those things in a different way."

It helps that he's been getting strong word for his turn in The Normal Heart， Glee creator Ryan Murphy's television film based on Larry Kramer's play about the HIV/AIDS crisis in early 1980s New York. Playing opposite Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo， Parsons reprised35） the character of Tommy—one of the founders of an AIDS crisis organisation and a role he played in a 2011 production of the play that marked his Broadway debut.

"To me at least that proves the point I had to make to myself all along—just keep moving and find the people who don't need convincing， like in this case Larry Kramer and Ryan Murphy， who felt I could do it， and strongly so. And that's what you do—you ride with the people who believe in you. So if there is anything to work out， and shake36） a little bit， from a character [like Sheldon]， that's the only way to do it. Or maybe go and live in a cave for 20 years and come back looking completely different—with plastic surgery37）."

That won't be necessary， with Parsons' movie career beginning to ramp up38）—from voicing an alien in DreamWorks' forthcoming animation Home to a role in Visions， a horror about a pregnant woman suffering from extreme hallucinations39）. Parsons seems delighted at this sudden array of very un-Sheldon like roles. "There are a lot of different characters to play and a lot of different shoes to walk in. And in all aspects of the industry."endprint

Does this mean he feels like following Braff into directing？ There's a pause. "It's not that I would say 'no'. But I'm 41 now， and I have yet to reach a part of my life where the acting hasn't made me feel completely satisfied， with whatever this is that I'm doing on this Earth ... it has made me feel very happy. I don't know if this is because I have a lot of other aspects of my life to go along with it， and that's very fortunate ... I don't know." And for once40）， he's lost for words.

一夜痛饮，清晨酒醒。扎克.布拉夫的额头涂着“舞会”两字，彼得.萨斯加德（编注：美国著名男演员）光着膀子，彼时尚无名气的吉姆.帕森斯穿着一副骑士盔甲，吃着一碗“喜福汇”。这一场景出自布拉夫2004年的导演处女作——电影《情归新泽西》。帕森斯只在这一幕露了个脸，饰演一位从一家中世纪主题餐厅刚下班就直接来赴宴的客人。对了，他还说着克林贡语。

“这一幕正合我意，我当时很喜欢，”帕森斯笑着说，“十年后回头再看，我会说‘对一部处女作电影而言，再没有比这更让人受宠若惊的经历了！”更重要的是，十年后的帕森斯已经成为美国观众最喜爱的情景喜剧明星之一，饰演《生活大爆炸》里的谢尔顿.库珀博士（编注：常被称为“谢耳朵”）——加州理工学院的一位理论物理学家，博闻强识，智商187，能说一口流利的克林贡语。……