Frasier: How It Should Be Re-Cast In 2021

All-consuming sitcom The Big Bang Theory wasn’t for everyone, but it’s hard to have anything but praise for the performance of Jim Parsons. As neurodivergent physicist Sheldon Cooper, Parsons was tasked with making a difficult and often unpleasant figure the hero of the story.

He achieved this by delving into the minutiae of Cooper, turning what could have been a tedious and robotic (and even problematic) character into a living, breathing character. While Niles Crane was a fundamentally more pleasant figure, David Hyde Pierce similarly built his performance out of micro-moments, making the deeply silly character the heart of the whole show. Witness his balletic slapstick or the way he’s entranced by Daphne - it’s studied but human.

Parsons can do prissy in his sleep, and is adept at portraying a character who you simultaneously love but want to see knocked down a few pegs. He’s proved that he has many more strings to his bow than his most famous role, and could bring to the part the requisite combination of dignity and foolishness.