The Insider.com

He's won two Emmys for portraying the brainy Sheldon Cooper -- a theoretical physicist with a robotic personality -- on the hit CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory. And he's making headlines today for acknowledging publicly for the fist time that he's gay. Here are five things that might surprise you about Jim Parsons.

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1. Born James Joseph Parsons in Houston, Texas, he's the oldest of two children. His mother is a first grade teacher and his father -- who passed away in a car accident in 2001 -- was the president of a plumbing company.

2. Has said he caught the acting bug in elementary school while playing the role of the Kolokolo Bird in a school production of Rudyard Kipling's The Elephant's Child.

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3. His favorite TV show growing up was Three's Company and more recent favorites include American Idol, Grey's Anatomy and Friday Night Lights.

4. Says he's always had a strong interest in music and took piano lessons for 14 years.

5. Is prone to motion sickness when riding in a car so he prefers to drive himself.

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