The Big Bang Theory was such a juggernaut for most of its celebrated 12-season run that it’s still one of the shows that people turn to when they need some comfort viewing. The laugh track-free Chuck Lorre sitcom helped launch several careers, including that of Kunal Nayyar, who portrayed Raj Koothrappali for the entire run of the series. However, Nayyar just opened up about the funny way he used to annoy everyone behind the scenes early on.
What Did The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar Say About Pissing Everyone Off Early In The Show’s Run?
While fans don’t know just yet if the latest Big Bang Theory spinoff that’s being developed for Max will hit the 2025 TV schedule or even be picked up for a full series at all, one thing we can all count on is being able to use our Max subscription to binge episodes of the beloved hit anytime we want. And, one of the best streaming services even lets you get in on some behind-the-scenes details of the comedy with an official podcast.
Kunal Nayyar was recently a guest on The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast, for an episode dedicated to Season 1, Episode 8, “The Grasshopper Experiment.” This is the episode where everyone realizes that Raj can actually talk to women as long as he’s had some alcohol, and during his conversation about the episode, Nayyar revealed:
I was the worst in the beginning on the show. I broke all the time. It really pissed everyone off, but I couldn't help it. I don't know why. I would also break a lot of my own jokes, which is funny.
Even though it’s probably pretty common for actors to, say, begin crying during a dramatic scene, and it might be welcome, one thing you are not supposed to do more often than not is “break” while the funny business is going on. As a character in the middle of whatever crazy action is taking place, you probably shouldn’t find it funny, but Nayyar (who played a gritty killer for his first post-TBBT role in 2020) was still new to the business and “couldn’t help” but laugh, even during the jokes he was responsible for.
This particular episode is one of the many classics that came along during the show’s tenure, so filming it likely led to some irritation on the part of the non-Nayyar cast and crew, because he probably laughed a lot when he wasn’t supposed to. He confirmed that he broke during an important scene at the beginning of the episode, where Raj reveals that he needs to return the call of a woman his parents are trying to set him up with.
With no one knowing yet that all it takes is some booze to loosen him up enough to talk to ladies, his good friend Howard (Simon Helberg) decides to help out by doing the job for him, complete with a fake accent. When asked what it was like the first time he heard Helberg’s impersonation, Nayyar said he “loved it,” and added:
Simon is a genius. You know what I mean? [Goes into fake accent] The way he’s doing it like he’s got this water in his mouth — [Reverts to regular voice] I don’t know what he’s doing, but it’s hilarious. The beauty of Simon as an actor and a performer is even a simple line like ‘Friday works for me.’ Just the cadence in which [he said] ‘Friday works for me!’ Like, it was so beautifully musical and just ridiculous. He's a genius. It was very hard for me to keep a straight face. They probably cut away because I started laughing, and then they cut back, and I look a little like I've just been trying to, you know, not laugh out loud, basically.
Once you watch Howard’s Raj accent scene for yourself, you’ll definitely see some evidence that Nayyar had to stop himself from reacting obviously to the funniness that was going on. Luckily, it sounds like he eventually got used to such moments and was able to stop from breaking on a regular basis. Can you imagine if we didn’t get 12 seasons of Raj? We’d be so much worse off right now!
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