The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons Talks Making Out With Kaley Cuoco, Singing Queen, and the Future of Shamy

One can’t sit down with Jim Parsons and think about anything other than the fact that you’re in the company of comedic brilliance. The multiple Emmy winner gives the most nuanced, exquisitely complicated performance as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory each week, so it should come as no surprise that he takes every interview as seriously and thoughtfully as he does his work on-screen.

At an intimate gathering on the set of The Big Bang Theory yesterday to announce the 20 UCLA undergrads who were selected for The Big Bang Theory Scholarship Endowment (to support students in need of financial aid who are pursuing higher education in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), Parsons spoke with Glamour about what it was like to make out with Kaley Cuoco in that dream sequence, how he approached his rock-star moment singing Queen, and what he thinks of Leonard and Sheldon’s new living arrangement. And, on a personal note, he extended his thanks to Glamour readers for being such loyal viewers of the show and for being just as excited about season nine as you were for season two.

On making out with Kaley Cuoco’s Penny: “It was really fun—and, very honestly, really easy. Very early on working on this show, I began working a lot with Kaley on a lot of different scenes because Penny and Sheldon had a lot of scenes together, and it was a very easy relationship to be a part of on-camera. Obviously, as different as she and I are—certainly as different as the characters are—that may not seem like the most logical thing to say, but as performers, she and I work very easily together. The first time we rehearsed [the kiss], it was literally just like an extension of the verbal dance we’ve been doing for eight and a half years. It’s always awkward to a degree, but this was shockingly easy. We had so much fun. And it was so much fun to do it live in front of the audience. I kept thinking, ‘When a moment like that is going on, they’re going to know it’s coming and start laughing before we do it.’ You have one shot to do it right in front of an audience like that, and they didn’t at all. It was dead silence, and the vibe in the room was, ‘What is happening?!’ It was exactly what it should have been and then BAM, we were making out!”

On singing Queen: “It was wonderful. I love Queen, so I was happy to see it [in the script]. The only point of contention was whether to sing it in falsetto, which we did end up doing. Freddy Mercury sang it in his normal register, but there was something about the energy of the falsetto that matched more of his energy than me singing in the regular voice. That was Chuck [Lorre]’s idea, as many good ideas are around here, but he was like, ‘I think you should do it in falsetto,’ so I did it, and again, it’s not exactly what he did, but energy-wise, it was much more closer to a Queen performance than doing it normal.”

On Sheldon and Leonard’s new roommate agreement: “We have made a habit of really slow growth and change in these characters, and that’s been on purpose from the writers. They found a way to not move [Leonard] out yet. I don’t know how long we get to keep that living situation…I really don’t. They haven’t said anything to me. I have great faith in them though. They’ve done so many things with these characters that have been seemingly out of line with what was expected, but they always handle it in an organic way that is based in where the show has actually gone to and come from. Even some of the relationship stuff between Sheldon and Amy would have been unthinkable in season three or season four, but by season six or season seven, it had gotten there, so I have a very ‘never say never’ attitude.”

In other news…

We also caught up with Mayim Bialik, who is about to embark on a huge story line arc for Amy. Without giving too much away, the Emmy nominee teased that we will revisit that shocking plot point from the season eight finale, when it was revealed that Sheldon had an engagement ring for Amy. “It starts unraveling,” admits Bialik. “We start exploring what the stakes are for Sheldon and Amy.”

As excited as Bialik is for what’s to come, she was even more thrilled for the UCLA undergrads who now can focus on their studies instead of how they’ll pay for their college education: “To know that they might not have had the money…I mean, once you know your schooling is paid for, you can focus on studying, and that’s everything.” The actress shared a sweet moment with creator Chuck Lorre when she extended her personal thanks for helping start the scholarship fund. Lorre revealed that a few years ago, he and the producers and executives at CBS and Warner Bros. realized that the younger generation was going into the STEM field as a result of watching The Big Bang Theory. “As gratifying as that was, the next logical step was, ‘What if we can help?’ and so over the last year, we’ve cobbled together this extraordinary scholarship fund of over $4 million, which has enabled us to help fund the education of the 20 people here who were 10 years old when the show started. And more scholars will be added every year. No pressure, but we expect you to change the world—all we can do is make you laugh.”

For more secrets from the set, stay tuned to Glamour.com—we’ll be rolling out behind-the-scenes coverage and exclusives in the coming weeks!