The Big Bang Theory: She was supposed to play Kaley Cuoco, what happened to the actress removed from the series pilot?

Five years ago, The Big Bang Theory, one of the most famous sitcoms of all time, left the screens forever at the height of its popularity. And yet, no one expected it to be such a success before it aired—not even CBS, which even rejected the original pilot episode. Still, executive producers Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady took a second chance and filmed a new first episode. The rest is history.

But what about that first project? Available on YouTube, it’s clear that the tone of the series was originally quite different. This was due in part to the casting, but mostly to the script – no pennies!

Leonard, Sheldon and…Kate?

The original pilot featured Katie as the series’ third main character alongside Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki). Amanda Walsh, who had already played small roles in Smallville and Veronica Mars, as well as several films, including a small role in Paranoiac (2007), was cast in her role.

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Not only the actor and the name of the character were different from today’s version, but above all the personality of the character…

If Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre Both expressed how good the latter was in the role of Katie, which she played as written, the character itself being the problem. Unlike Penny, Kathy was more worldly, rude and harsh towards Sheldon and Leonard. Given how the young people were portrayed as empathetic characters, the dynamic didn’t match what CBS wanted to see in the series.

At the time, Kaley Cuoco was also considered for the role, but was chosen by the producer Amanda Walsh. In a special broadcast by CBS after the series ended, Kaley Cuoco said that she actually auditioned for the original role of Katie, which she described as “An unhappy, dark and lonely woman”, is very far from Penny’s character.

“Chuck called me a year later and said, “This is a new character, we want you back.”“- he added. “I read this role and it was much better than last year. I think it was just fate.“

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Chuck Lorre So he reworked the entire series after CBS rejected his original pilot, calling it “mess“because the team”He didn’t really understand the characters yet“.

“We had to go through this failure to understand that if a woman was to be part of the ecosystem, she had to be gentle with them because they were really vulnerable.“, he added.

Penny’s more understanding and warm nature was more appropriate The big bang theoryBecause it represented the viewer’s point of view in the story.

Watch an excerpt from this famous abandoned pilot with Katie:

Other crucial changes

Amanda Walsh wasn’t the only actor fired after filming the pilot. Iris Bahr’s character named Gilda was also removed. Gilda was supposed to be another female scientist from the original cast, but she was replaced by Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar). In this first version, Sheldon was also a much more open character.

In Jessica Radloff’s book, The Big Bang Theory: The Ultimate Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, Amanda Walsh He spoke openly about his experience. If the actor admits that he was disappointed, he also expressed that he understood the decision of the creators.

“You’re waiting to hear, to get that phone call, to find out if they’re filming the show, and if you’re going to fly to New York. It’s been a crazy 24 hours.”remembered. “And then I found out that Big Bang Theory wasn’t being filmed, but they were going to renew it – with a new character, without me.“

“It’s never a call you want to get as an actor, but Bill was as pleasant as possible about it. And then a year later, I got really lucky, for another pilot called Masters of Manhattan with Molly Shannon and Natasha Richardson. For me, it really reinforced the notion of ‘it’s not you’, because as an actor you’re always questioning that. So being hired by the same people for another big project was very, very rewarding. And I’ve hired Chuck on other projects, and Nick and Kenny have always said that Chuck is a fan, which helps a lot.“

The Big Bang Theory – The Penny Version – is currently available to watch in its entirety on Netflix and Prime Video.