'Theory': Everyone's alienated
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, October 06, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- Geeks are chic this year because "everyone feels some sort of alienation," says actor Jim Parsons.
The new kid at school? The smart guy at work? They're us in an unfamiliar situation, he explains. "We like watching characters who don't fit into the bigger majority because they're so readily relatable."
In "The Big Bang Theory," Parsons and Johnny Galecki play Sheldon and Leonard, brainiacs who live next door to a gorgeous woman who doesn't quite have the same mental skills. Leonard is smitten; Sheldon, realistic.
"Sheldon knows the outcome of this experiment and can predict it with realistic assurance," Parsons says. "He knows Leonard doesn't have a chance with her."
But that doesn't stop Leonard from hoping. "There's always the possibility that something might happen," Galecki says. Besides, "even Eddie Van Halen was locked in his bedroom for the first 20 years of his life. And I'm sure it was pretty shocking to him when he finally left."
For Galecki and Parsons, being outsiders is common.
Interested in theater since childhood, Galecki was teased throughout childhood. "It didn't help that I was wearing eyeliner and a fedora on the school bus. I was asking for it. But my friends had always been people in the chorus of whatever play I was doing." By the time he joined "Roseanne" (as Sara Gilbert's boyfriend), "I had long left school and moved out on my own. The environment I was in was show business already."
Parsons, too, knew from an early age that he wanted to be an actor. The stage was home. Every other place was not. "I never felt comfortable in athletic situations," he says. "I was really glad when that phase of my life was over."
Now, as the star of a sitcom, he feels comfortable, accepted. Playing a character who's naive? "It's extremely familiar. I've done a lot of characters that have an openness, a naivete."
Still, both Galecki and Parsons were uncertain about the fate of "Big Bang." Filmed nearly two years ago, it was put on hold. Then, the female role was recast.
Waiting to hear if it'd get on the air was taxing, Parsons says. "I couldn't have been more depressed. I was just mentally and emotionally exhausted, wondering what would happen. When we finally got the word, it was the best news in the world...but you were just wheelspinning. I considered myself a working actor but I was completely inactive."
His solution: Running. "I can't tell you how much it helped."
Galecki, meanwhile, made his Broadway debut in "The Little Dog Laughed," a comedy about closeted actors in Hollywood. The show was nominated for several Tonys and introduced him to a new world.
"It was terrifying," he says. "But that's the fun of theater -- it's a highwire you have to walk every night. After a while, you become callous and start to jiggle that wire. You try to throw the other actors off in order to keep the spontaneity and energy."
While Broadway was never a goal, it allowed Galecki to reach outside his comfort zone. Now, he says, he's addicted and wants to do more. "Big Bang" is shot before an audience, giving him a similar buzz. With "Roseanne," "I didn't feel any pressure." As a lead on a new sitcom, "it's there."
Both actors say they relate to their characters "even though I can't think about physics for 25 minutes without having an anxiety attack," Galecki says.
Like Leonard, "I'm not very good at talking with girls," Galecki explains. "I never know if someone is flirting with me. I'm absolutely clueless when it comes to signs. It's really pathetic."
Parsons admits he's more than a little obsessive/compulsive. "I'm a Purell guy, a hand washer. And every once in a while I'm a 'Did I leave the iron on?' guy. I get out of bed, too, to check to see if I locked the door. Is it normal? No, but they have drugs for it. I just elect not to take them."
For Kaley Cuoco, who plays their friend across the hall, "The Big Bang Theory" is proof good things come to those who wait. Passed over for the role when she auditioned two years ago, she got the job when producers recast. The character was too hard, too edgy in the first pilot. "It wasn't fun to watch," she says. "The audience didn't enjoy these guys being put down by this gorgeous girl." For the second pilot, the character was rewritten and Cuoco was cast.
"It felt great...I'd waited so long and then didn't get the job. When it happened, I thought, 'This was meant to be.'" Like Galecki, Cuoco wondered if she could make the transition from teen star (she was on "8 Simple Rules") to adult actress. "You play a teen and then you never work again," she says. "But, I'm lucky. I'm in my 20s and I'm playing someone in her 20s." Alienation? Of course. "People in Hollywood look at you and think you're what they see on screen." The surprise? "I love horses and I know my way around a farm. They're usually shocked when they hear that I love to move the hay."
"The Big Bang Theory" airs Mondays on CBS.
In "The Big Bang Theory" Kaley Cuoco plays a young woman from Omaha who moves next door to a pair of geniuses.
Research? "I've never been to Omaha...and I'm not going there," she says with a smile. "I know what it's like to move to a big city. I've grown up quite a bit since people last saw me on television. I'm out of my 16-year-old phase. I'm not the 'daughter of' someone anymore."
The new kid at school? The smart guy at work? They're us in an unfamiliar situation, he explains. "We like watching characters who don't fit into the bigger majority because they're so readily relatable."
In "The Big Bang Theory," Parsons and Johnny Galecki play Sheldon and Leonard, brainiacs who live next door to a gorgeous woman who doesn't quite have the same mental skills. Leonard is smitten; Sheldon, realistic.
"Sheldon knows the outcome of this experiment and can predict it with realistic assurance," Parsons says. "He knows Leonard doesn't have a chance with her."
But that doesn't stop Leonard from hoping. "There's always the possibility that something might happen," Galecki says. Besides, "even Eddie Van Halen was locked in his bedroom for the first 20 years of his life. And I'm sure it was pretty shocking to him when he finally left."
For Galecki and Parsons, being outsiders is common.
Interested in theater since childhood, Galecki was teased throughout childhood. "It didn't help that I was wearing eyeliner and a fedora on the school bus. I was asking for it. But my friends had always been people in the chorus of whatever play I was doing." By the time he joined "Roseanne" (as Sara Gilbert's boyfriend), "I had long left school and moved out on my own. The environment I was in was show business already."
Parsons, too, knew from an early age that he wanted to be an actor. The stage was home. Every other place was not. "I never felt comfortable in athletic situations," he says. "I was really glad when that phase of my life was over."
Now, as the star of a sitcom, he feels comfortable, accepted. Playing a character who's naive? "It's extremely familiar. I've done a lot of characters that have an openness, a naivete."
Still, both Galecki and Parsons were uncertain about the fate of "Big Bang." Filmed nearly two years ago, it was put on hold. Then, the female role was recast.
Waiting to hear if it'd get on the air was taxing, Parsons says. "I couldn't have been more depressed. I was just mentally and emotionally exhausted, wondering what would happen. When we finally got the word, it was the best news in the world...but you were just wheelspinning. I considered myself a working actor but I was completely inactive."
His solution: Running. "I can't tell you how much it helped."
Galecki, meanwhile, made his Broadway debut in "The Little Dog Laughed," a comedy about closeted actors in Hollywood. The show was nominated for several Tonys and introduced him to a new world.
"It was terrifying," he says. "But that's the fun of theater -- it's a highwire you have to walk every night. After a while, you become callous and start to jiggle that wire. You try to throw the other actors off in order to keep the spontaneity and energy."
While Broadway was never a goal, it allowed Galecki to reach outside his comfort zone. Now, he says, he's addicted and wants to do more. "Big Bang" is shot before an audience, giving him a similar buzz. With "Roseanne," "I didn't feel any pressure." As a lead on a new sitcom, "it's there."
Both actors say they relate to their characters "even though I can't think about physics for 25 minutes without having an anxiety attack," Galecki says.
Like Leonard, "I'm not very good at talking with girls," Galecki explains. "I never know if someone is flirting with me. I'm absolutely clueless when it comes to signs. It's really pathetic."
Parsons admits he's more than a little obsessive/compulsive. "I'm a Purell guy, a hand washer. And every once in a while I'm a 'Did I leave the iron on?' guy. I get out of bed, too, to check to see if I locked the door. Is it normal? No, but they have drugs for it. I just elect not to take them."
For Kaley Cuoco, who plays their friend across the hall, "The Big Bang Theory" is proof good things come to those who wait. Passed over for the role when she auditioned two years ago, she got the job when producers recast. The character was too hard, too edgy in the first pilot. "It wasn't fun to watch," she says. "The audience didn't enjoy these guys being put down by this gorgeous girl." For the second pilot, the character was rewritten and Cuoco was cast.
"It felt great...I'd waited so long and then didn't get the job. When it happened, I thought, 'This was meant to be.'" Like Galecki, Cuoco wondered if she could make the transition from teen star (she was on "8 Simple Rules") to adult actress. "You play a teen and then you never work again," she says. "But, I'm lucky. I'm in my 20s and I'm playing someone in her 20s." Alienation? Of course. "People in Hollywood look at you and think you're what they see on screen." The surprise? "I love horses and I know my way around a farm. They're usually shocked when they hear that I love to move the hay."
"The Big Bang Theory" airs Mondays on CBS.
In "The Big Bang Theory" Kaley Cuoco plays a young woman from Omaha who moves next door to a pair of geniuses.
Research? "I've never been to Omaha...and I'm not going there," she says with a smile. "I know what it's like to move to a big city. I've grown up quite a bit since people last saw me on television. I'm out of my 16-year-old phase. I'm not the 'daughter of' someone anymore."
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