In terms of “The Huge Bang Idea,” there are a entire bunch of tales in regards to the wild casting course of. Regardless that Simon Helberg finally earned the primary position of Howard Wolowitz, Kevin Sussman very almost booked it … and wound up enjoying comedian ebook proprietor Stuart Bloom on the present anyway. Kunal Nayyar, who performs Raj Koothrappali for all the sequence, was almost fired earlier than filming even started, and Kaley Cuoco changed the present’s authentic feminine lead together with her character, Penny. Johnny Galecki ended up enjoying Leonard Hofstadter for the present’s complete 12 season (and 12-year) run, however earlier than he got here on board, John Ross Bowie auditioned for the half. Like Sussman, he ended up scoring a recurring position … with a twist.
In a 2017 interview with The Spectrum, Bowie informed the outlet that he did audition for Leonard however understood why Galecki received it. “They have been seeing just about each nerd in [Los Angeles] for the 2 essential roles and I really learn for the a part of Leonard,” Bowie recalled. “Once I came upon (Johnny) Galecki received it, I used to be uncharacteristically not resentful! I did not know him, however was aware of his work and felt he was a superb match for the position.”
This is the twist: creators Chuck Lorre and Invoice Prady have been on the lookout for a very particular kind of actor. “They have been on the lookout for a [recurring] ‘villain’ and Chuck remembered me,” Bowie mentioned. “Initially, I performed the character as an alpha nerd bully, however Chuck and Invoice thought he ought to have some vulnerability so Chuck prompt a speech obstacle. I attempted one thing refined, however what got here out was this Elmer Fudd voice.”
John Ross Bowie thinks that Barry Kripke’s method of talking is definitely fairly cool
The voice for the character that finally grew to become Barry Kripke — a plasma physicist and string theorist who works on the California Institute of Expertise with Leonard, Howard, Raj, and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) got here out of a easy suggestion and apparently, although Bowie informed The Spectrum that he thought it was a bit a lot, Chuck Lorre actually liked it. “Chuck has this very particular snigger and started guffawing,” Bowie remembers about his audition. “I began work the following day.”
Technically, Barry Kripke suffers from a speech obstacle generally known as “rhotacism,” which is characterised by an individual having hassle with the “R” sound (therefore why Elmer Fudd from “Looney Tunes” was introduced into the dialog, as he has the identical concern). Bowie informed The Spectrum, although, that he thinks Barry’s speech obstacle is maybe the least attention-grabbing factor in regards to the character, in that it does not outline him in any respect. “For all his flaws, Kripke just isn’t a loser and is extremely good, so I believe there’s one thing essentially empowering in regards to the character,” Bowie mentioned, even saying that Barry “wins greater than he loses” the place his rivalry with Sheldon is anxious.
There’s one different nice story from John Ross Bowie’s Huge Bang Idea audition — and it entails Leonard Nimoy
Not solely did John Ross Bowie assist give you the voice for Barry Kripke throughout his audition, however all the character shifted a bit when Bowie got here on board. In Jessica Radloff’s 2022 ebook “The Huge Bang Idea: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Sequence,” Bowie informed Radloff the identical story he informed The Spectrum — particularly, that he auditioned to play Leonard, misplaced the position to Johnny Galecki however understood, after which improvised a voice throughout his audition that sealed his destiny (in a great way), however added some particulars … together with the truth that a well-known “Star Trek” actor interrupted that audition.
After making Chuck Lorre and Invoice Prady snigger together with his “Elmer Fudd” voice, Bowie remembers, “Then there was a knock on the door and somebody sticks their head in and goes, ‘Chuck, there is a telephone name from Leonard Nimoy.’ Usually if I get my f**king audition interrupted I am furious. This time I used to be like, “Pay attention, we simply met however you need to in all probability go take that.” Fortunately, it did not have an effect on Bowie’s audition in any respect — and the character really modified a bit to accommodate his chilly learn. “After which like half an hour later I am driving house and I get the decision that I am supposed to indicate up at Warner Bros. the following day and so they wish to preserve the speech obstacle,” Bowie recalled. “They’ve additionally modified the character’s identify to Barry as a result of it sounds funnier with the speech obstacle.” Bowie went to work immediately, and the remaining is historical past.
“The Huge Bang Idea,” together with all of Bowie’s greatest moments as Barry Kripke, is streaming on Max now.
