From starting out with a small role in a school play to becoming the highest-paid actor on ‘The Big Bang Theory’, Jim Parsons has quite the heavy pocket that might make you wonder how much does the actor make per episode. Well, we have the answer. Scroll down to see.
Jim Parsons has had quite the rocky road throughout his acting career. Following his many roles in numerous Broadway productions, Parsons finally got himself a small yet significant role in 2002 in the TV show ‘Ed’.
Highlights —
- The sarcastic nerdy physicist that paid the bills
- From sitcoms to Hollywood
After giving 15-30 failed pilots a shot, he finally found fame in ‘The Big Bang Theory’ which eventually also led him to become the highest-paid TV actor in 2017. Are you still wondering how rich TBBT made the Texan-born-Emmy award winner actor? Read on to know more.
How much does Jim Parsons charge per episode of a show?
The sarcastic nerdy physicist that paid the bills
There is no doubt that Jim Parsons is definitely one of the best comic actors in the industry. In case you didn’t know already, right since he was in school he knew he wanted to become an actor someday. Several off-broadway productions and failed pilots later, the American actor hit the jackpot with Sheldon Cooper on TBBT. And, of course, there was no turning back after that.

Showrunner Chuck Lorre was so impressed with Parsons’ audition that he asked him to give a second one to see if it would be as flawless as the first one. How cool is that? As expressed in an interview, the actor was so fascinated with the character and the dialogues, that he was sure this role was meant for him.
Starting out with only $60,000 per episode, Parson’s decision to sign up for TBBT certainly sowed the seeds for success and brought the money in the bank.
It wasn’t until season 4 that the pay increased to $200,000 per episode. That sure is a well-deserved pay, isn’t it?
Following season 4, TBBT came up trumps with 15.82 million views in the fifth season, which had been the highest so far. This created room for an additional $50,000 per episode. By season 7, the actor was richer by $350,000 per episode. Not to forget, Parsons’ was also receiving 0.25 percent of the series’ back-end money. THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY. But hold up, there’s more.
Before production for season 8 began, contracts were negotiated which ultimately got the 8 times People’s Choice Award winner a whopping $1million per episode deal. However, in March 2017, Parsons along with Galecki, Cuoco, Helberg, and Nayyar took a 10 percent cut to allow Bialik and Rauch an increase in their earnings, leaving the former making $900,000 per episode.
From sitcoms to Hollywood
After Parsons’ major breakthrough role as Sheldon Cooper, he landed noteworthy roles like Greg Wheeler in the movie ‘A kid like Jake’, and a bunch of other voice-over acting on shows including ‘Young Sheldon’, ‘The Simpsons’, and ‘Family Guy’ among many others.
Consequently, putting an end to the TBBT journey meant new shows and movies were coming the actor’s way. Jim Parsons signed up for the role of the fictionalised version of Henry Wilson, a Hollywood talent agent, in the Netflix original miniseries ‘Hollywood’. While the series received mixed reviews, Parsons’ is beyond question the scene-stealer.
“Jim Parsons is giving me so much color. From BBT and now, Hollywood. Damn”, shared a fan on Twitter.
Another fan tweet said, “Jim Parsons is actually so terrifying in Hollywood. Cannot believe the entirety of my perception of him has been as a nerdy jerk in big bang theory”.
As reported by Forbes in 2018, Parsons was named the highest-paid TV actor who pocketed $26.5 million pretax in the 12 months preceding June 1, 2018.
Are you a Jim Parsons fan? What do you think about his earnings? Which other work of JP besides TBBT do you like? Let us know in the comment section below.
