Even Jim Parsons Struggled With This Sheldon Scene in Big Bang Theory
Sometimes we do things to make our loved ones happy, but how does that make us feel about ourselves?
The Big Bang Theory is the show that answers that question almost every episode. But only from one perspective – how everyone makes sacrifices for Sheldon's life choices.
Like not sitting in his seat, driving him back and forth to work, ordering food from places he likes, and even peeing on a schedule he makes up.
That kind of life seemed great for Sheldon, didn't it?
Except that most of the time he didn't even notice what was going on and how it made his friends feel. He was so accustomed to a certain way of life and comfort that anything that disrupted his routine was a huge stress for him.
Like when something extra huge happened in the show's season 10, when his girlfriend Amy was left without a place to live.
So what happened next was Penny suggested that Amy move in with Sheldon in their apartment, and Penny herself would take Leonard and move into her apartment across the hall.
Needless to say, this sounded terrible to Sheldon.
Nevertheless, Amy found a way to convince her boyfriend, calling the change an experiment. And Sheldon then insisted that it be done on neutral territory – which brings us to Sheldon living in Penny's apartment.
The fact that Sheldon, with all his stubbornness and inability to adjust to change, was willing to do this for Amy is shocking. But it wasn't just hard for him!
The actor who plays Sheldon, Jim Parsons, also struggled with this particular decision made by the writers. Parsons didn't mind his character moving in with Amy (frankly, it was time), but he felt strongly about moving into Penny's apartment.
"They made it work… but I mostly had to ignore my own feelings, which was, 'This is out of whack! At the very least, I couldn't believe it wasn't a two-part very special episode where Sheldon ties himself to the kitchen island and won't leave! But that wasn't what they wanted to do," Parsons recalls.
Looking back, the actor said he is still not at peace with what his character had to do.
This creative decision made him very unhappy, but there was nothing he could do about it. In the end, the result was not so bad.
Parsons admitted that he enjoyed the experiment and that living at Penny's was actually fun.