There have been so many Big Bang Theory stories bandied about in the last five years between book releases, celebrity interviews and the official BBT podcast. You’d think at this point it would be pretty hard to surprise me, but during a recent appearance on the aforementioned podcast, Simon Helberg confirmed a story that I’d either glossed over, never heard or possibly forgotten.
Apparently, when Jessica Radloff published her book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, she mentioned in that book that Kevin Sussman had actually auditioned to play Howard when TBBT was coming together. Sussman, as you may already know, ended up on Bang anyway, and now has a brand new series coming when Stuart Fails to Save The Universe hits the 2026 TV schedule. Yet, if things had gone differently, he could have been the one making that incredible Big Bang salary.
He'd auditioned for the role Simon Helberg ultimately won, but he never, ever spoke to Helberg about it, as the actor admitted to Radloff in a recent interview. It's a little surprising, since they were pals on set!
We spent a lot of time, like, hanging out in dressing rooms and talking about acting. We sort of geeked out about just lots of stuff, and work and all that. Lots of stuff. I have to talk to him about that. I’m so interested in his perspective and what that feels like. I only knew that he had read for Leonard. That’s what I knew. And I knew that like early on, like he was someone they really loved and they considered him for Leonard. I was like, ‘Wow, that would have been so interesting.'
As it turns out though, Sussman had also read for Howard Wolowitz. I guess it could have made interactions a little awkward, so he kept it to himself until the Big Bang Theory book was coming together. It was Radloff who in turn broke the news to Helberg, though he admitted they haven’t yet had the chance to hash it out. Life has simply gotten in the way.
Simon Helberg Says Auditioning For The Big Bang Theory Was Really Weird
Now, Simon Helberg maybe didn’t know TBBT was considering another actor for the role, but looking back, he said that he can see it. The entire experiences of auditioning for the CBS sitcom was a little Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On the one hand, he had a great time in the room and thought he nailed it. Then, the show ghosted him for a period of time:
I didn’t know though, how I didn’t know he also read for my part. But it makes so much sense. I always said to you, and I said to other people, I was like, ‘Yeah there was clearly this very weird eternal week of ambiguity after there was a lot of excitement to have me come in and test.’ Then it was this like, sort of like, you go on a great first date, then you’re like, ‘What happened? Clearly something is wrong.’
Eventually, I’d assume the casting directors settled on Helberg and had to break the news to Sussman, though the two men have not spoken of it. Helberg did share what he believed happened from his perspective:
And then like, out of that darkness, they’re just like, ‘No sorry, my phone is dead.’ And then I went and got that job. But I always had that, ‘Hmm.’ I don’t have any real feelings about it, except just that kind of curiosity because it’s part of this formative experience. But no one ever talked to me about it.
Who knows what The Big Bang Theory dynamics would have really been like if Sussman had been hired instead? Even Helberg admits if these conversations had gone a different way, "it would have been a different thing." This is particularly true when it came to Howard and Bernadette. In general, though, the actor seems more curious than upset about this secret finally coming to light, and mentions this sort of thing is pretty common as part of any actors' career.
Alls well that ends well. Eventually, the Chuck Lorre sitcom brought Kevin Sussman in as a comic book store owner in Season 2, and he became more of a regular on the series later on. Years later, the latest spinoff got greenlighted, and now Stuart Fails to Save The Universe has been filming and in the works for months now.
As it turns out, Sussman didn’t ultimately need the Howard role, but it’s certainly interesting to consider the alternate timeline, particularly as Stuart will be a series about alternate timelines. It does make me wonder if this bit of fan lore could come back in fiction in some way. We'll have to wait and see, of course.
