On a recent episode of the CBS hit “The Big Bang Theory,” socially inept ubergeek Sheldon Cooper received a Christmas gift from his neighbor, Penny: a napkin autographed by his hero, “Star Trek” icon Leonard Nimoy.
Sheldon, a theoretical physicist who, like Nimoy’s Mr. Spock, treats emotion like a science experiment — he studies it, dissects it, and discards it — is so overcome with joy that he twitchingly approaches Penny for a hug. Embracing her, he’s so awkward he looks like a drunk praying mantis having a seizure.
It is this constant, hilarious mystification and discomfort with human interaction, as personified by Texas-born actor Jim Parsons, that has helped turn “The Big Bang Theory” (which also stars Johnny Galecki (“Roseanne”) as Sheldon’s roommate and fellow scientist Leonard) into a surprising success, including a just-announced, two-season renewal.
Sheldon, who is almost immeasurably brilliant, is so clueless about the nature of people that Parsons developed him using the memory of a classmate who ate tree bark.”
I only knew one real genius, a classmate from elementary school,” says Parsons, 36, a veteran who has appeared in “School for Scoundrels” and “Garden State” and on “Judging Amy.”
“He would do things like eating bark off of trees. I’m playing somebody with an intellect that I will never fully understand. So if there was any point of reference, it would be that kid, and only to justify that being that smart could make you do crazy things.”
Parsons believes that Sheldon’s naiveté is why this stubborn, grating person still comes off eminently likable.
“That childlike innocence is how he gets away with saying some of these seemingly outlandish things,” he says. “It’s quite frequently without malice. He’ll state the obvious many, many times — just like a child.”
To date, Sheldon — who introduced the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock” into the pop culture lexicon — has been remarkable not just for his comic cluelessness, but also for his asexuality.
He’s oblivious to the allure of the beautiful blond Penny (“8 Simple Rules” and “Charmed” actress Kaley Cuoco) and to the infatuation of various grad students bowled over by his genius. While a Sheldon romance is hard to envision, Parsons believes that its time will come.
“It would have to be a frying-pan-to-the-head type moment,” says Parsons, who doesn’t believe this will happen this season or even next, but sometime down the road.
“Who knows all the ways he’ll attribute the feeling, when it hits him, of love, romantic desire, sexual desire. I feel like he’ll travel through the body. Is it an intestinal problem? Is this gas? When he gets walloped with a feeling he doesn’t know what to attribute it to, it’s the most foreign territory for him.”
Despite his lack of libido, Sheldon has appeared in more scenes this season with Penny. During one feud, he banned her from his apartment for sins, including her sitting in his spot on the couch.The increased pairing of Sheldon and Penny — as in tomorrow night’s episode, when Sheldon gets locked out of his apartment and has to spend the night at her place — is an excellent example of comedic yin and yang.
“They really are the North and South Pole characters,” says Parsons. “She is the most earthbound, and Sheldon is the most in the head.
She’s feeling, she’s touch, she’s grounded more in her body, and he’s grounded more in the top of his skull.
“Parsons, who recently bought a house in Los Angeles and is currently single, has been acting since childhood. But despite his longstanding proclivity for the theater, he never felt like a nerd.
“I feel really middle of the road about it,” he says. “I never felt cool, but I don’t think I was studious or smart enough to be a nerd. I would never be on the homecoming court, but I didn’t end up shoved into too many lockers.”
While Parsons does share some traits with his character — including a soft, dense, speaking style; an occasionally high-pitched vocal cadence; and a slight proclivity toward OCD behavior — he characterizes any personal Sheldonisms in a different way.
“I used to list a few traits that I thought might be nerdish, and I’ve decided I’m more of an old man,” he says. “I love my newspaper. I love my talk radio. And I love getting up — and going to bed — early.”
THE BIG BANG THEORY
Monday, 8 p.m., CBS