‘The Big Bang Theory’ Star Jim Parsons Reveals Life Amid Surprising Coronavirus Diagnosis

Former The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons recently opened up about his personal experience with the coronavirus during appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Parsons, who can be seen in the new Netflix movie The Boys in the Band, said he and husband Todd Spiewak tested positive for the virus in March. Parsons called the experience “frightening” and said they both experienced symptoms of COVID-19.

“We didn’t know what it was, we know we had colds and we lost all sense of smell and taste,” Parsons told Fallon on Sept. 28. “It defied the descriptions for me, I didn’t realize how taste and smell could be gone.” Parsons said he and Spiewak missed being able to taste their food at home, especially since eating became a favorite activity while they quarantined. The Hollywood actor said he also kept busy by taking creative writing classes and bleaching his hair while stuck at home.

On Thursday, Parsons appeared on Late Night, where he shared more details about his “frightening” experience with the virus. “I feel like we probably must have had a mild-ish case, you know, we had the fever and the chest pressure and things like that,” Parsons said. “I would say at least 50 percent of my quote-unquote pain was just the anxiety and the fear, partly why I still feel that way now, to be honest, but it was in March and here in New York, it was not pretty”

Parsons said he went to bed every night hoping they never had to make an emergency call. He also developed a habit of shaving every day, since that lessened his anxiety. “I shaved every single day that I was sick and partly it was because I felt better when I was clean-shaven and partly it was because – this is so morbid – I thought if I have to get rushed to the hospital I want to look like I’m trying,” Parsons said. “I want to enthuse people to come to me and help me, please.”

Parsons starred as Sheldon Cooper for 12 seasons on The Big Bang Theory, which ended in 2019. Since then, he has appeared in Netflix’s miniseries Hollywood and the just-released The Boys In The Band, a new adaptation of Mart Crowley’s play. He also continues to narrate CBS’ Big Bang prequel series, Young Shelton.

In his interview with Fallon, Parsons said Sheldon was “built” to survive in the coronavirus pandemic. He said the pandemic reminded him of the episode where Sheldon built a “Shell-bot” so he did not have to directly interact with other humans. “That was when people still needed to get together in groups and so he would just send that out and sit in his room. Don’t touch me don’t sneeze on me,” Parsons said. “And so, I guess, he’d be fine.”