Openly gay actor is world’s highest paid TV star

Who knew that playing an arrogant, social inept geek on TV could be so profitable!

Well, for openly gay The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons the role of Sheldon Cooper has certainly been a serious money-maker.

Parsons has just been named the highest paid television actor in the world, earning a cool $29 million from June 1, 2014 to June 1, 2015.

That’s according to Forbes magazine’s Highest-Paid TV Actors 2015 list.

The 42-year-old Texan beat out The Big Bang Theory colleague Johnny Galecki who took second place with a $27 million paycheck.

Others in the top 15 included Mark Harmon (NCIS), Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory), Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) and Ashton Kutcher (Two and a Half Men), who all tied in third spot after earning salaries of $20 million.

Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) and Ray Romano (Parenthood) both scored $15 million and Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy) and Simon Baker (The Mentalist) took home $12 million each.

Fellow gay thespian, Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson, came in 12th place on the list with a very respectable $11 million.

Parsons came out as gay in a May 2012 New York Times article. He opened up about his decade long relationship with partner, art director Todd Spiewak, at a Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Respect Awards ceremony in Los Angeles in October 2013.

“I’ve never considered my relationship with Todd to be an act of activism,” he said. “Rather simply, it’s an act of love, coffee in the morning, going to work, washing the clothes, taking the dogs — a regular life, boring love.”