Jim Parsons has revealed some more details about his departure from The Big Bang Theory.
The actor, who won four Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance as Sheldon Cooper on the beloved sitcom, initially told The Hollywood Reporter that was time for him to leave because it had become “more difficult”.
“It was the first time in my life of doing this show that it occurred to me that I might want to not do another contract after 12 was up,” he said at the time. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m an Aries or just because maybe I’m in touch with myself. Whatever it is, once I had that thought, I was like, well, that’s your answer.”
In a new conversation with David Tennant for his Does a Podcast with… Everyone series, the star said he was experiencing an “intense” time in his life due to his increasing workload and the deteriorating health of his dog.
“I was exhausted,” he admitted. “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 that his dog had a “really bad seizure” and so he and his husband, Todd Spiewak, made the decision to put him down. “As you can tell, it really upset me. Still does,” he told Tennant.
“I was so beaten down. I walked out for curtain call [for Boys in the Band] and I slipped and I broke my foot. It was the scariest moment for the next couple of days because I felt like I was at the edge of a cliff,” he added.
“I was teetering and I saw something really dark below between the death of the dog. The bottom line was that it was a really intense summer. The dog passing away, he was 14, and Todd and I had been together for 15 years at that point, so it just was the end of an era.
“I had this moment of clarity that I think you’re very fortunate to get in a lot of ways of going, ‘Don’t keep speeding by.’ You know? ‘Use this time to take a look around’. And I did.”
Parson’s character, Sheldon Cooper, became the breakout star of The Big Bang Theory and is frequently listed as one of the greatest television characters of all time. A prequel series, Young Sheldon, was recently renewed for a fourth season.
Since his time on the series, Parsons has received further acclaim – and another Emmy nomination – with his role as talent agent Henry Wilson on Hollywood, who was responsible for launching the careers of many big-screen stars including Rock Hudson.
He will also reprise his role as Michael from the 2018 Broadway production of The Boys in the Band for the Netflix film of the same name, which is directed by Hollywood co-star Joe Mantello and co-produced by Murphy.
The film – which debuts on the streaming service later this year – will also star Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Tuc Watkins and Michael Benjamin Washington.
Related: Here’s why Jim Parsons hasn’t appeared on American Horror Story.
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