The Big Bang Theory cast recently got a big raise — but only after some big drama. As previously reported, production was delayed on the CBS sitcom earlier this summer while series stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco negotiated their salaries for the next three seasons.
"I always thought everything would be worked out by the start date," Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper, told Entertainment Weekly of the contract dispute, which resulted in each of the three leads earning $1 million per half-hour episode. "When it wasn't, it certainly wasn't a good feeling, but there was absolutely no getting around the fact that everything had to be dealt with and finished before we could get back."
Having grown up in a family where no one spoke about money, Parsons isn't that comfortable with the entire world knowing how many zeroes are on his paycheck — but he admits it's a small quibble in the big picture. "It is what it is," the actor told EW, "and the job is so wonderful that those minor oddities are well worth the ride."
It doesn't hurt, of course, that he's a three-time Emmy winner for the show, with two more nominations at this year's ceremony (for Outstanding Lead Actor in Big Bang, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in HBO's acclaimed TV movie The Normal Heart).
"To be nominated again for Big Bang is at least as touching to me, if not more so now, than it was the first time," he told EW. "Look, I'm only human and therefore there's a part of me that's waiting for people to say, 'Enough of you!'"
