Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, shared an old photo from 2002 on social media. In the photo, Jim, at 29 years old, has his arm around his sister Julie.

He captioned it: '#tbt Me and my sister, NY, 2002. (Yes that would be dyed hair for a role, not necessarily my favorite look).'

Say cheese: Jim Parsons was clearly shaping up for his role as The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper as he sat with his arm around his sister, Julie, in this Throwback snap from 2002

In the photo Jim Parsons shared, he is smiling broadly - different from the stoic, nerdy character Sheldon Cooper that he played for years.

Parsons portrayed Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory since the show premiered in 2007. Over the course of the show, he won four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for the role.On The Big Bang Theory, Parsons' character Sheldon shared an apartment with his friend Leonard, played by Johnny Galecki. Leonard's girlfriend - and later wife - Penny was portrayed by Kaley Cuoco.

Geeking out: The 43-year-old has been playing the asperger-afflicted senior theoretical physicist since 2007, with co-stars Johnny Galecki as fellow physicist Leonard, and Kaley Cuoco as Leonard's girlfriend, now wife, Penny

Their equally geeky pals include aerospace engineer Howard (Simon Helbert) and astrophysicist Raj (Kunal Nayyar).

Mayim Bialik plays Sheldon's girlfriend Amy Farrah Fowler.

Meanwhile, Jim has continued his film and stage appearances during his Big Bang Theory run.

The actor, whose longtime boyfriend is art director Todd Spiewak, will next be seen on the big screen in Hidden figures.

Award winner: Jim has picked up four Emmys and a Golden Globe for his role as Sheldon

It stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe in the untold story of three brilliant female African-American mathamaticians at NASA, who were the brains behind one of the greatest achievements in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit in 1962.

Jim Parsons stars in the upcoming film Hidden Figures, alongside Kevin Costner and Kirsten Dunst. In the movie, Parsons plays Paul Stafford, the head engineer of the NASA Space Task Group. Kevin Costner portrays his boss, Al Harrison.Hidden Figures is set to be released on January 13.

Not so nerdy now: Jim Parsons attended the GLSEN Respect Awards with his longtime boyfriend Todd Spiewak on October 23 in Beverly Hills. The event was held at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel.