Jim Parsons says he was prepared for fame upon joining the cast of The Big Bang Theory.
The 41-year-old star plays socially awkward scientist Sheldon Cooper in the hit US sitcom and he feels being in his thirties when the show started helped keep him grounded, despite his newfound fame and millions.
He explained: "I was 33 when I started the show and I'd never done anything in the public eye before. But I do feel I had a decent handle on who I was when all the s**t hit the fan, in the best of ways.
"I had other friends who were working so I knew enough to know I'd probably sign a five-year contract and earning an amount of money I'd never seen before.
"I don't remember how much but it didn't matter - anything would have been impressive to me."
Jim has earned several awards for his role as Sheldon, including three Best Actor prizes at the Emmys, but the humble star thinks the character's success is down to the show's writers.
He told the Metro newspaper: "The show's creators and writers created a character that's unique to television and I'm taking no credit for that. I don't even think about [awards] or I wouldn't be able to play it properly. Sheldon has something broken about him, which I think endears him to a lot of people."
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