The Big Bang Theory was a memorable experience for its cast, but that doesn't mean they enjoyed everything they had to film. Raj actor Kunal Nayyar recently pointed out how much he hated dressing as Aquaman, and the harness that made the whole outfit so much more miserable to wear.
The Big Bang Theory Podcast hosted Nayyar to talk about all things Raj, and showed a clip of him dressed as Aquaman in "The Justice League Recombination." After a quick reminder that the episode and other great episodes of TBBT were available with an HBO Max subscription, the actor talked about how wearing that costume was a terrible experience:
So it was a whole thing, and I had to like, wear this harness…. I think that was a long day of shooting. I think it was like [an] 8-hour or 10-hour shoot, which is pretty rare for us. But there were so many characters, and there was all this stuff going on. But, if I had to pee, I couldn't. I had to take the whole thing off. So I just remember I didn't pee like the whole day and I didn't drink any water either.
I can't help but laugh because actors complaining about superhero costumes is such a common thing. Superhero costumes are made to look awesome on-screen, but rocking all that skin-tight leather and mesh for hours at a time can be uncomfortable. Given that, it's all the more hilarious to me that Kunal Nayyar's Aquaman costume was meant to look like a silly cosplay, and even it wasn't comfortable enough for him to enjoy the experience.
The harness, which kept a seahorse strapped to his body, was the worst part of the experience. Specifically, it made going to the bathroom and sitting an issue, which the actor noted gets old really quickly several hours into the day:
I ate just like beans and rice, you know, because it was such an issue getting it off and on. And I remember being sore for days, because it was like a heavy thing, and you can't sit. So I couldn't sit, and I couldn't pee for almost 10 hours. That's why all that ‘Aquaman sucks’ was true.
I also can't help but notice the suit has padded muscles, which is ironic considering The Big Bang Theory asked the guys to keep their shirts on in the past because of how in-shape they were. Plus, I'm sure that padding also made the suit that much more cumbersome, which is never fun.
Raj's Aquaman costume was based on The Super Friends version of the character, as it was years before Jason Momoa's Aquaman would hit theaters. Momoa's portrayal has done a lot to help the character's street cred, as Nayyar noted after his story:
How funny is — like that's what our version of Aquaman is, and then Jason Momoa plays Aquaman like the most manly beast of a man ever?
Now I'm just imagining an episode of Stuart Fails To Save The Universe in which we get to see Raj portray Jason Momoa's version of Aquaman, and look a whole lot cooler in the process. The trailer did feature Stuart taking on Batman villain Mr. Freeze, so maybe we could see that in a future episode.
For now, I'm just content seeing Kunal Nayyar appear as his character in the new spinoff. He's already had two appearances, both of which were memorable for different reasons. No spoilers for those who haven't seen it, but I will say it was more shocking than seeing him in an Aquaman uniform.
Catch Stuart Fails To Save The Universe and The Big Bang Theory on HBO Max. Kunal Nayyar is great in both, and anyone who has checked out one but not the other is doing themselves a disservice.
