The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons is to play a gay rights activist in a new film.

In Glee creator Ryan Murphy’s HBO film The Normal Heart, the actor famed for playing the socially awkward Sheldon Cooper will star alongside many A-list stars.

The film will take place during the HIV crisis in New York City in early 1980s.

Parsons will play Tommy Boatwright, a gay activist, the role that he played in the 2011 Broadway revival of the Tony-winning Larry Krammer play.

The Big Bang Theory gay actor Jim Parsons is developing a new television series about child prodigies.

The 39-year-old known for playing geeky neuroscientist Sheldon Cooper in the US sitcom will executive produce the show.

Titled Prodigies, the series will profile exceptionally gifted young people based on a series of videos on YouTube channel THNKR, which has over 100,000 subscribers and 12 million views.

Ellen DeGeneres got a Time magazine cover when she came out as a lesbian in 1997. A decade or so later, Lance Bass got a People magazine when he announced to the world that he was a gay man and so did Clay Aiken a short time after that.

But in 2o12, several high-profile celebrities came out as gay and didn't find themselves at the center of a media frenzy. Among them: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, Emmy winning actor Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), and Broadway star-turned TV actor Andrew Rannells (The New Normal).

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association unveiled the nominations for its Golden Globe Awards on Thursday (13 December) and they included some nods for LGBT artists and characters.

Among them are Jim Parsons, the openly gay actor who stars on the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory. Parsons was nominated for best actor in a comedy or musical television series. 

Parsons won the Globe in 2011 and has also won two Emmys for his portrayal of the straight character of Sheldon Cooper.

There is real power when a celebrity is honest about their sexuality or gender identity, as it lets thousands of young gay people know they are not alone.

So to celebrate Coming Out Day (11 October), GSN has gathered together the stories of 14 celebrities who shocked the world when they were revealed who they really are.

Ellen DeGeneres

When Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian in 1997 on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, and later on her sitcom, she didn’t work for three whole years.

Jim Parsons, the openly gay star of The Big Bang Theory, is up for a Primetime Emmy Award.

It was revealed the comedy actor, known for playing Sheldon on the CBS sitcom, was nominated for the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series award today (19 July).

Previously nominated for the past three years, and winning the award in 2010 and 2011, Parsons is against stiff competition.

He is up against Larry David for Curb Your Enthusiasm, Don Cheadle for House of Lies, Louis C.K for Louis, Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock, and Jon Cryer for Two And A Half Men.

There was no Lance Bass or Clay Aiken-type People magazine cover for Jim Parsons who came out publicly near the end of a New York Times article on Wednesday.

The star of the highly-rated CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory was profiled as he is set to star on Broadway in the play Harvey and it states: 'Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship.'