The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons Reveals Morbid Reason He Shaved Every Single Day While Battling COVID-19

Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons recently revealed that he had COVID-19 earlier this year and now, he reveals the morbid reason he shaved every single day while battling the disease. During a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Parsons explained that he shaved daily during his time battling the illness because he didn’t want to look like he’d given up should he have needed to be taken to the hospital.

“It was frightening. I feel like we probably must have had a mild-ish case, you know, we had the fever and the chest pressure and things like that, but I would say at least 50 percent of my quote unquote pain was just the anxiety and the fear, partly why I still feel that way now, to be honest, but it was in March and here in New York, it was not pretty,” Parsons said. “I went to bed every night wondering, ‘I hope we don’t have to make an emergency call’. You know what’s crazy, I shaved every single day that I was sick and partly it was because I felt better when I was clean shaven and partly it was because, this is so morbid, I thought if I have to get rushed to the hospital I want to look like I’m trying. I want to enthuse people to come me and help me, please.”

Parsons revealed his COVID-19 battle during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon late last month, telling the Fallon that he had initially thought he had a cold until some of the illness’ more unique symptoms kicked in.

“Yeah, we had it. Tom and I both had it early on, it was like middle of March,” Parsons said. “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.”

Parsons is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. The series ended after its 12th season last year and since the pandemic, many fans have wondered how the notoriously germophobic Sheldon would handle the pandemic. For Parsons, he thinks Sheldon would be handling it just fine as it’s something he’s been preparing for forever.

“He was built for this,” Parsons said. “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.

Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic.