Hometown Glory
Jim Parsons wins the Emmy — again — and gets praise from Michael Douglas
Jim Parsons did it again.
The Houston-trained actor picked up his third Emmy as Lead Actor in a Comedy for his role as eccentric genius Sheldon Cooper in the monster hit, The Big Bang Theory. It was the fifth straight nomination for Parsons, who the Emmy announcer said had decided to become an actor at the age of 6.
"My heart, oh my heart," Parsons said upon accepting the award from presenters Jimmy Kimmel and Sofia Vergara at the 65th Emmy Awards. "I want you to know that I am very aware of how exceedingly fortunate I am, first to have a chance to do this role in this show....secondly to be here to be a part of such a phenomenal group of people, for seemingly happenstance reasons to be up here right now."
"It's so silly to be emotional, isn't it?," a clearly moved Parsons continued, which seemed particularly moving since his character is a logic-based scientist.
Parsons also gave a shout out to his cast members, director, agent, manager and to his partner, Todd Spiewak, whom he called "my favorite person on earth."
Prior to the awards ceremony, during a red-carpet interview with E! Entertainment's Ryan Seacrest, Parsons noted it was the fifth time he has attended the Emmys. "It gets better with age," Parsons said.
Actor Michael Douglas, who crossed paths with Parsons on the red carpet gushed, "I'm such a fan of yours. You're so good."
"That was a good first meeting with him," Parsons quipped.
Douglas later won an Emmy of his own — Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his portrayal Liberace in the HBO movie, Behind The Candleabra.
Parsons is one of only a handful of actors from the big four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) to be nominated at this year's Emmys and was the lone network winner in major categories as cable shows dominated the proceedings. The Big Bang Theory is television's top-rated comedy.
Parsons has strong ties to the Houston acting community. He was a founding member of Houston's Infernal Bridegroom Productions, performing in 18 plays with the group, whose other founders went on to establish Castastrophic Theatre. Parsons graduated from Klein Oak High School and the University of Houston.
One more Emmy win, and he will tie Carroll O'Connor, Kelsey Grammer and Michael J. Fox as the actor with the most wins in the lead comedy actor category. Parsons won back-to-back Emmys in 2010 and 2011.