After portraying friends and colleagues for twelve seasons, it's no surprise that the cast of The Big Bang Theory became good friends in real life.

But what did they think of each other when they first met? In a resurfaced interview, Jim Parsons admitted that he thought one of his TBBT co-stars was incredibly handsome upon meeting him for the first time. You'll never guess who he was talking about!

Chuck Lorre Didn't Think Jim Parsons Was A Good Fit For The Role Of Sheldon Cooper

The character of Sheldon Cooper is one of the most iconic characters in The Big Bang Theory. As it turns out, this character was loosely based on someone Bill Prady, co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, met back in the 80s.

"Before I was a writer, I was a computer programmer and was working with guys who were amazingly bright and had a little trouble fitting into the world, me among them. I would tell Chuck [Lorre] about a guy I knew who was a human calculator," Prady told fans at the 2009 Paley Festival.

"If you programmed in Z80 assembly, you had to convert from decimal to hexadecimal, and you could either grab the calculator or you could shout it to this guy, and he would be faster. But he couldn't calculate a tip at a restaurant. And the reason is because the formula for a tip is 15-20% depending upon the quality of the service, and he couldn't put a numeric value on the service. It was human."

Given that he was based on a real person, Lorre and Prady had a very clear idea of what they were looking for with this role. When Jim Parsons came in to audition, Prady thought he was a perfect fit.

"We saw – oh god, I don't know, 100 people? And when Jim Parsons came in, he was Sheldon on a level," Prady told People in 2021. "Jim came in, and he was just – from that audition, he was the Sheldon that you saw on television. Jim left the room, and I turned and I went, 'That's the guy! That's the guy! That's the guy!'"

But Chuck Lorre didn't want to hire Parsons because he thought that the actor's audition had been too perfect and he wouldn't be able to portray the character with such finesse again. Fortunately, Prady convinced Lorre to have Parsons reaudition for the role of Sheldon. And the rest is history!

Jim Parsons Thought Kunal Nayyar Was The Most Handsome Man On The Big Bang Theory

The cast of The Big Bang Theory worked together for twelve years, but what did they think of each other when they first met? Well, they answered this question during an appearance at Stephen Colbert's show. The host asked the Big Bang Theory cast, "What were your first impressions of each other?," to which Kunal Nayyar jokingly answered, "Oh, everyone is very good looking."

"Wait a minute, is that your real answer?" Jim Parsons asked his co-star, "Because they asked me in the pre-interview, what was your impressions of people and I told them some things, but the one they were like 'You gotta say this out loud,' was like I said, 'So and so is really funny, so and so I just thought was whatever,' and I was like, but Kunal I thought was the most handsome man," Parsons revealed.

"I have a thing for brown hair and brown eyes. He really checked off my boxes and then, later on, I thought he was pretty talented too."

Parsons wasn't the only person Nayyar made a strong impression on during their first meeting. In fact, the actor's charming personality is what got him his role in The Big Bang Theory in the first place!

"When we were casting for that part, we were casting for an international member of the ensemble, [because] if you go into the science department at a university, it's not [just] Americans. It's one of the most international kinds of communities. So we saw foreign-born people," TBBT's co-creator, Bill Prady, revealed in an interview with Buzzy Mag. " And then Kunal came in, and it was like Jim – it was just Person Number Eight on a day of Twenty-Seven people, and he was charming."

Are Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar Friends in Real Life?

For twelve years, Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar played colleagues and friends in The Big Bang Theory. But what was their relationship like in real life? Well, it's no secret that the cast of TBBT became good friends in real life. While some a closer than others, Parsons and Nayyar parted on good terms after the show came to an end.

"We're family," Nayyar told Entertainment Weekly of the ending of The Big Bang Theory. "We've spent a lot of time together, we were there when we found out together, and we're there to support each other, and that's all there is to it, really." The actor also admitted that he felt relieved when Parsons announced his departure from the show.