Share and Follow
Mayim Bialik brought the brilliant and quirky character Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler to life on The Big Bang Theory from 2010 to 2019. During her time on the show, Bialik appeared in 203 out of the 279 episodes and became a series regular and beloved character.
Bialik’s portrayal of Amy Farrah Fowler perfectly matched the character’s unique personality, making her a standout on the show. Her sense of humor brought a fun and fresh energy to The Big Bang Theory and helped make it one of the most successful sitcoms ever.
But, before all the success of her character, Bialik was originally only meant to be in one episode. So, the actress, who was working two jobs at the time, didn’t quit either position. Her future on the show was so up in the air that she couldn’t afford to stop working outside the sitcom.
What Was Originally Supposed To Happen With The Character of Amy Farrah Fowler?
Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler was a neuroscientist with a doctorate in neurobiology from Harvard University, inspired by Bialik’s own educational background. Her first appearance on the show was through a dating website, where Raj and Howard believed she would be a perfect match for Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons. Although Sheldon was not easy to please, he and Amy hit it off in their own quirky way and eventually became a couple.
As their relationship developed, Amy’s eccentricities and Sheldon’s idiosyncrasies made them a fan-favorite and one of the show’s most memorable couples. They even won a Nobel Prize together for their groundbreaking work on Super-Asymmetry.
Before all of that, Amy initially was to only appear in one episode for the season 3 finale to generate a few laughs at Sheldon on a date—something outside the box for the character.
We can’t imagine not having Amy in the show and seeing how she and Sheldon progress over the course of the series, and Jim Parsons—who played Sheldon—couldn’t have imagined it either.
Jim Parsons Fought For The Character of Amy Farrah Fowler To Stay
Jim Parsons was possibly the number one Amy and Sheldon—Shamy—supporter. The actor fought for the character to stay on the show after only being slated for one episode.
Jessica Radloff, a senior editor for Glamour and considered a leading journalist for the sitcom, released the book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, where she gathered the cast and crew to talk about their experience on the show. There, Parsons revealed his support of the Amy character:
Read Related Also: Kris Jenner’s Relationship With Her Mysterious Sister Is Not As Glamorous As The One She Has With Her Daughters
“And at some point in season four—I don’t know if something caused it or not—I remember saying to Todd, ‘I will not let this character go without a fight.’ That was notable for me, only in that I almost never disagreed with the writers. But at some point, I felt a certain way about working with Mayim that I was like, If for whatever reason we seemed to be weaning her off of this show as a character, I would go and talk to them.”
He continued, “I said this years ago, but I believe it even more now that one of the smartest things that the writer’s room ever did was introduce Bernadette and Amy at a point where, as far as interests and storylines go, we did not need them yet. The writers did not let the well run dry before they were like, Oh God, should we adopt a kid? Should we bring in a monkey? You know what I mean? They plugged these people in to see what was going to work and how it would work, and I thought it was genius.”
Unlike Parsons, who knew the Amy character wouldn’t go away, Bialik was less confident.
Amy Bialik Still Worked Two Jobs While Appearing on The Big Bang Theory
While playing Amy in season four, Bialik explained how she was hired from episode to episode and didn’t know if her character would return each week.
While speaking to Radloff, Bialik said, “The week that I was offered a regular contract, I had told my manager, ‘I think this is my last episode; I think they’re done with me and have done all they want to do with my character.’ And that made me really sad. I told my manager, and she called me back later that day and said, ‘You’re not going to believe what call I just got. They’d like to offer you a full position as a regular!’ [Laughs] Like, no one was sending me covert messages; it was a completely self-generated fear that I wasn’t fitting in or whatever it was. It was completely my own craziness.”
She revealed that before she got the coveted contract to be a series regular, she hadn’t quit her “regular” jobs, “But once I was made a regular, I was still teaching neuroscience and tutoring piano. Then all that stuff kind of petered out because I had a full-time job. But I was not used to that! I had gotten my Ph.D. about five years before. I was living my best hippie, science, mom life pretty much out of the industry. So it completely changed everything.”
The Big Bang Theory is currently streaming on HBO Max.
