Highlights
- “The Big Bang Theory” is a beloved sitcom that aired for 12 seasons on television. One of the reasons for its success was the cast of characters, many of which went through significant changes as the show progressed. Kevin Sussman, who played the owner of the comic book store Stuart, was initially supposed to have a minor role. However, he improvised a line during one episode that changed the character’s trajectory.
- Sussman described the moment during Paris Manga in 2021: “There was this thing with Penny, and she comes into the comic book store and she asks me a question. And as she’s leaving, which was not in the script, I muttered under my breath, ‘I love you.'” From that point on, Stuart’s character regressed, as he started as a normal person and then became more desperate and obsessed with Penny.
- While Stuart’s character evolved, Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, also had her own breakthrough moments. Cuoco disagreed with the show’s writers about Penny’s character arc, particularly regarding her pregnancy storyline in the final season. However, Penny’s character played a significant role in the development of other characters on the show.
Very few sitcoms can last a solid decade on television. This usually indicates the series in question not only has immense success, but has become part of pop culture history. Friends lasted ten seasons and still has a loyal viewing audience. Modern Family ran for 11 seasons and developed a legion of fans who tuned in every week.
The Big Bang Theory is one of those rare shows, lasting an impressive 12 seasons on television.
A major reason for the show’s success was the cast of characters. Many of these characters went through major changes as the show progressed. The character of Stuart, the owner of the comic book store, was played by Kevin Sussman. The role was initially supposed to be minor until Sussman improvised a line during one particular episode.
The Character Of Stuart Was Going To Be Minor Until Kevin Improvised A Line
Sussman’s redirection to the role of Stuart was a welcome one fans of the show are grateful for. However, Stuart was a very minor character when he first appeared. This would soon change when the actor improvised an unscripted line during a scene with Cuoco.
Sussman described this moment during Paris Manga in 2021.
“There was this thing with Penny,” Sussman began,” and she comes into the comic book store and she asks me a question. And as she’s leaving, which was not in the script, I muttered under my breath, ‘I love you.'”
He continued, “From that point on, is when they caught on to this whole Stuart vibe, where Stuart sort of regresses, because he started as a normal person and then he gets more and more desperate and his undying love of Penny.”
This doesn’t mean Sussman always improvised his lines, however. According to the actor, “The cast doesn’t improvise,” because the writers would always provide them with plenty of material to work with.
“The writers are so good that if a joke doesn’t hit, the writers will converge on the spot and within three minutes have it rewritten—so it is funny,” Sussman explained. “The writers on
The Big Bang Theory
are probably the best in the business when it comes to on-the-spot writing. It’s not a single camera show like
The Office
was. Everything is very tightly-scored. There are four cameras all going at once, so everyone has to watch where their marks very closely. That doesn’t leave any room for improvisation, really.”
This wouldn’t be the last time a character went through a major evolution on the show. While Penny would eventually be joined by other main female characters later in the series, the first three seasons were quite different. She was the only female character in the early seasons and was often portrayed as a ditzy blonde. Penny was the subject of many jokes that would be viewed as problematic today.
This is something Lorre said he now regrets. In the book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, Lorre talked about the early incarnation of Penny and her development as a character.
- “One of the most underwritten characters in the show early on was Penny,” he said.
- “It was really obvious immediately that we hadn’t developed the character beyond the pretty girl next door, and Kaley was certainly capable of doing a great deal more than what was asked of her. We had to make the character more fully realized. Not just for an episode, but always. [Over time] Penny had an intelligence about people, about relationships, and about sussing out a situation and understanding the dynamics of what’s going on in a room.”
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In the same book, Cuoco shared her disagreement over Penny’s character arc. Throughout the final season Penny and Leonard struggle with the idea of having children. Then, Penny discovers she’s pregnant unexpectedly in the final episode. The show’s fans have mostly celebrated this storyline. However, Cuoco made it clear that she actually wanted her character to take a different path.
“I actually wished that they did not [make Penny pregnant], because I loved that message [of Penny not wanting kids] so much,” Cuoco said. “It was cute how the writers did it at the end with Penny’s surprise pregnancy, and all in all I’m glad, but I was actually voting for her not to [get pregnant].”
Like Stuart, Penny Had Her Own Breakthrough Moment As A Character On The Show
To celebrate the show’s 15th anniversary, creators Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre spoke with Entertainment Weekly. The two discussed many aspects of the show’s history and revealed their favorite moments in the series. This discussion also provided insight into the important role Penny played in the series.
- “Jim Parsons’ speech about why he sits in that particular spot on the couch in the pilot episode,” Lorre said when asked his favorite moment. “I think we all watched that and understood something remarkable was happening. There were no real jokes in the speech, it was just a worldview that was so precise, and he brought it to life. It was an astounding moment I’ll never forget.”
- “I love the episode where Sheldon doesn’t like that Leonard is dating Raj’s sister,” Prady said. “She was a lawyer and kept finding loopholes in the roommate agreement and was using it against him. Sheldon gets so mad that he ends up threatening to tell her parents she was dating Leonard and uses the Star Trek self-destruct sequence to do it.”
He continued, “To me, that was this great nerd explosion. Then there’s the incredible moment with the Christmas gift where Penny gives Sheldon a napkin with Leonard Nimoy’s DNA on it.”
Lorre added, “That’s when he hugged Penny. It was the first time he laid a hand on her. That was a big character breakthrough moment, he was so alienated up to that point.”
The character of Raj had many memorable qualities. One of the most memorable of the bunch was his inability to talk to women. This made for some great comedic moments in the show.
In their Entertainment Weekly interview, Lorre and Brady discussed the development of Raj’s character and what the inspiration was.
“Bill worked with a guy in the 1980s, a computer programmer, that was actually like that,” Lorre said.
“Yes, and that attribute actually belonged to the fellow who had most of Sheldon’s attributes as well,” Prady added. “Somehow, in our discussions, that moved out of the Sheldon character and into Raj.”
“Yeah, we created two characters out of that one guy,” Lorre said.
Prady described how he noticed his former co-worker’s issue.
“It was a really interesting thing to watch because if we were talking and a woman came into the room, he would just stop talking,” he said. “And then she would leave, and he would start talking again. Obviously, we started noticing it. It’s a real thing, selective mutism. It’s an anxiety condition. He was just so anxious around women that his solution was to not talk.”
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“And Penny is the one who cured Raj,” Lorre added, once again noting the significance of the character. “She was the pivot point for all these characters. She was also the one who told Howard, ‘You’re not a ladies’ man… you’re disgusting.’ But she also introduced him to Bernadette. She impacted all these characters in such a major way.”
Kevin Sussman Initially Auditioned For A Completely Different Role Before Landing Stuart
Kevin Sussman’s role of Stuart was one that the actor felt resembled much his own experiences, as he revealed to TV Store Online.
“I used to work at a comic book store. I worked at Jim Hanley’s Universe in New York City while in acting school,” he said. “I wasn’t a fan of comics before I started working there, but I became a fan afterward. I am a really big fan of Frank Miller and Alan Moore.”
Sussman added, “When I was working at that comic store, fellow employees introduced me to things, good stuff like ‘Love & Rockets.’ Also, to Daniel Clowes. I love his book called ‘Eight Ball’—its probably my favorite comic book.”
- “I know what it’s like to work in a comic book store; I know what tasks need to be done as the owner,” he said.
- “And having that history has really served me really well on the show over the years, because it has allowed me to stand in the background and look busy if the guys stop into the store to look for books and talk. I knew what Stuart needed to be doing as an owner—so I used that experience from life.”
This wasn’t the role he initially auditioned for, however. Sussman was originally being considered for the role of Barry Kripke.
“I auditioned for Chuck Lorre—at that time he had wanted me for Barry Kripke,” Sussman remembered. “But, at that time, I was just starting on a movie or something.”
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When speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the cast was asked about their first impressions of each other. Kaley Cuoco talked about how she knew right away how Jim Parsons was the perfect actor to play Sheldon.
“At the audition I saw Jim sitting there by himself, and we were the only two there,” she said. “He was very quiet and had a BlackBerry in his hand, playing with it. He looks at me and said, ‘You don’t know how to work this thing, do you? I just got it.’ He was very cute how he said it. I thought he could totally play Sheldon. Charming and innocent.”
