The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has made 2020 a pretty horrible year, and as global infection numbers continue climbing beyond 33.5 million, the world remains in a state of unrest and frustration. These negative effects have impacted every facet of life, too, including the entertainment industry, wherein hundreds of productions have been halted various times and plenty of celebrities have been infected with the virus.
During a virtual interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, actor Jim Parsons revealed that he and his husband Todd Spiewak tested positive for COVID-19 early on in the pandemic, though both have now recovered. He shared that he didn’t think much of his initial symptoms because they resembled a typical cold, but as the more unique symptoms of the virus began occurring, such as loss of taste and smell, he knew things weren’t quite right.
Tom and I both had it early on, it was like middle of March. We didn’t know what it was. We thought we had colds. And then, it seemed less likely and then finally we lost our sense of smell and taste. Utterly, and it defies the descriptions. For me I didn’t realize how completely taste and smell could be gone. And when you’re in quarantine and there’s really nothing to do but eat. Oh my god, that was brutal.
While he was in quarantine, Parsons said he tried various ways to entertain himself and spark his creativity, but nothing could compare to the joys of acting for him.
I tried other creative outlets because acting, obviously wasn’t happening, and I took a painting class for a while. I took a creative writing class for a while, and everything petered out I don’t know if the truth is, well, you’re just an actor and that’s what you do and that’s what you should do or if it’s just I really don’t have the see-through-stick-to-itiveness for anything.
Of course, Parsons spent twelve seasons on the hit show The Big Bang Theory, where he played Dr. Sheldon Cooper, an extraordinarily intelligent theoretical physicist with Asperger’s Syndrome and severe germaphobia. It goes without saying that many fans would be curious as to how Sheldon would have dealt with a pandemic such as this one, especially considering his extreme reactions to things like sneezes and simple colds.
Parsons thinks the character would’ve been adequately prepared to deal with the scenario, though, saying:
He was built for this. This is the moment he was waiting for. I was saying earlier, he, we had an entire episode which I didn’t think about until recently where he would have like a Shel-bot where he had like a video screen on a remote control wheelie thing. And 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. And so, I guess, he’d be fine.
Jim Parson has taken on a multitude of roles since his lengthy stint on The Big Bang Theory, and he can be seen this month in the new Netflix Original The Boys in the Band, a film adaptation of the popular Broadway play of the same name.
