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Sheldon Cooper, one of the main characters on "The Big Bang Theory" who's played by Jim Parsons, is ... unique, to say the least. Some, including a few of his onscreen friends like Leonard and Penny Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco), might use a different word, like "difficult," "stubborn," or "impossible" (and those are just a few of the kind ones). Seriously, though — Sheldon has a decently kind heart underneath all of his intellectual superiority and bluster, though he doesn't show it very often, preferring to lambast his loved ones over their career choices, whether or not they have advanced degrees, and a whole host of other things. I say all of this to illustrate how absolutely wild it is that, apparently, Sheldon Cooper was inspired by a real person. (Also, his name was originally "Kenny," but that's another story for another time.