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When Kaley Cuoco’s character on The Big Bang Theory changed from Katie to Penny, she hesitated to accept the offer.
During her time on The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco had many ups, and very little downs. Among the few downs included hating a certain storyline, ‘The Serial Ape-ist’, she also wasn’t a fan of the way Jim Parsons decided to announce his exit, which ultimately ended the show after 12 seasons.
Despite the hiccups, it was the perfect role for Cuoco. However, at the start, it didn’t seem that way. Cuoco had auditioned for the role of Katie, and once it changed to Penny, her mood on the role seemed to have lessened.
The show had changed the role given that test audiences weren’t into the Katie character. As it turns out, Cuoco needed some convincing to take on her career changing role as Penny. In fact, her team feared that her role on the show would turn into a secondary one.
We’ll take a look back at how it all went down, and how Cuoco was finally nudged to take on the role. We’re also going to take a look back at her audition and how the process turned into a memorable one alongside Jim Parsons.
Casting Director Ken Miller Revealed That Kaley Cuoco Wasn’t As Interested In The Role When It Changed From Katie To Penny
For 12 seasons and 279 episodes, Kaley Cuoco played the role of Penny on The Big Bang Theory. Even when she broke her leg, the show managed to hide it and keep her going, by wisely placing her behind the bar.
However, getting Cuoco on the show was harder than it seemed. According to ScreenRant and Jessica Radloff’s book, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story Of The Epic Hit Series, Cuoco had more interest in the Katie character than she did for the revised version of Penny. Casting Director Ken Miller recalled the process.
“When Chuck and Bill rewrote the character of Katie/Penny, we said, “What about Kaley?” [who had just come off of 8 Simple Rules and Charmed]. And they said, “Let’s get her in.”
“And then she passed. She liked the darker role from the first pilot and didn’t think the rewritten character was as interesting. Nikki spent the entire weekend saying to Kaley’s agent, “She’s gotta come back in for this, she’s gotta do it.”
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Thankfully, Cuoco would reconsider, but it turned out to be quite the process behind the scenes.
Kaley Cuoco And Her Team Hesitated To Accept Given That They Didn’t Want To Actress To Be ‘Stuck’ In A Role That Wasn’t Exciting
Kaley Cuoco and her team’s main problem at the start, was that the Penny character seemed to be a background player and more of a secondary role to Leonard and Sheldon.
Cuoco revealed, “I remember where I was sitting in my house when my agent, Ro, told me, “They really want you for this,” and “It’s probably going to go to series because it’s a Chuck show.” My team just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be stuck in anything that wasn’t an exciting role since it seemed like a secondary character at first.”
Cuoco was given the reassurance she needed by the casting director, “Ken kept saying, “No, no, it’s going to grow! The guys and this new girl are really going to blow each other’s worlds up.”
Cuoco would also add that Chuck Lorre’s involvement helped her decision.
“I knew when Chuck’s name is next to something, you really don’t question it. I laugh thinking about it now. And then, at every table read on Wednesdays, we always sat in the same place, and Ken and Nikki always sat behind me. And I would always yell out, “Thank you for hiring me!”
The role changed Cuoco’s career, and we’re sure she doesn’t have kind of regrets looking back.
Kaley Cuoco’s Big Bang Theory Audition Was A Memorable On For Her Chat With Sheldon
Kaley Cuoco has fond memories of her audition process. She recalls meeting Jim Parsons for the first time, and just knowing that he was the guy for the role of Sheldon.
She tells The Hollywood Reporter, “I remember sitting next to Jim in the waiting room and he had a Blackberry. It was an older phone and I remember introducing myself to him. He said he couldn’t get his Blackberry working and was talking to it. I thought, “This guy would be a hilarious Sheldon.” It might have been a Nextel, I don’t know what it was!”
Parsons would also have a memorable experience trying out for the show, his audition was so polished that Chuck Lorre didn’t believe he could pull it off regularly. Clearly, Lorre was wrong as Parsons made the role of Sheldon his own, and one we really can’t picture anyone else in.
