When it came time to cast Amy Farrah Fowler in "The Big Bang Theory," the producers were faced with a tough choice. Here's the one reason the role ultimately went to Mayim Bialik.
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00:00When it came time to cast Amy Farrah Fowler in The Big Bang Theory, the producers were
00:04faced with a tough choice. Here's the one reason the role ultimately went to Mayim Bialik.
00:08While The Big Bang Theory began its life with a quintet of iconic characters leading the
00:12show, some of the series' most memorable ones didn't join the cast until later seasons.
00:17Case in point? Neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler. Although she would go on to become one of
00:21the most important characters of the whole series, and appear in over 200 episodes, Sheldon's
00:25awkward counterpart, love interest, and eventual wife wasn't introduced until the end of season
00:29three.
00:30May I buy you a beverage?
00:34Tapid water, please.
00:36When she joined the cast, Bialik was no stranger to the world of sitcoms, having starred as
00:40the title character on Blossom from 1990 to 1995. Still, her road to The Big Bang Theory
00:45was unique. Even with her Blossom credentials, Bialik wasn't a walk-on. During the audition
00:50process, she went up against some stiff competition, and an actor with whom Big Bang Theory fans
00:54are probably familiar, Kate Micucci.
00:57Deciding between the two actors was apparently a tough decision for the producers, but Bialik
01:01has one unique skill that gave her an edge. Not every child actor makes a smooth transition
01:06to adult roles. When Bialik decided to take a break from acting, she opted for the unorthodox
01:10route of pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience. It's not usually the kind of hiatus that leads
01:15to an actor returning to the screen, but for Bialik, the decision ended up helping her
01:19acting career more than she could have expected.
01:21In her book, The Big Bang Theory, the definitive inside story of the epic hit series, Jessica
01:25Radloff reveals, through a series of exclusive interviews, how Bialik was able to nab the
01:29part of Amy Farrah Fowler over Kate Micucci. According to The Big Bang Theory writer and
01:34producer Steve Malaro, Chuck Lorre loved that she actually had a Ph.D. in neuroscience.
01:38It could have gone either way between Mayim or Kate, but because Mayim could bring an
01:42authenticity to the science and to the intelligence of the character, Chuck was like,
01:45"...I think that's so cool. Let's go with her."
01:48The producers also went with Bialik because of her ability to play opposite Jim Parsons'
01:52Sheldon. Casting director Ken Miller recalled,
01:54Chuck said,
01:55"...You know, we're looking for a female version of Sheldon. And Mayim goes, I got it."
01:59She knew exactly what she was going to do with the character.
02:01"...I'm excited to work with my boyfriend. It's gonna be romantic."
02:05That she was the right choice became abundantly clear as the show went on. During a 2012 interview
02:09with Conan O'Brien, Bialik said her background in neuroscience actually led to her correcting
02:13the writers on occasion.
02:14"...When they brought me back for the fourth season, he said they figured, why not make
02:18her what I am so that I can, you know, fix small things if they're wrong. But generally,
02:22they get pretty much everything right."
02:24For a generation of Big Bang Theory fans, the same could be said for the decision made
02:27by the casting directors. It's difficult to imagine the show with any other actors, and
02:32as Bialik told The Guardian, she hopes the show puts a more positive light on, in her
02:36words, nerds and geeks. She also told Us Weekly after the show wrapped,
02:40"...I would like our show to be remembered as a show that really demonstrated how the
02:43other half lives, or how most of us live, which is kind of on the outside in some way.
02:47I think everyone has a little bit of outsider in them."
02:50As a self-professed nerd herself, her unlikely involvement in one of the most popular shows
02:53in recent history has no doubt done a lot to make that legacy happen.
02:57As for Kate Micucci, she found her way back to the Big Bang Theory set in the sixth season
03:01as Lucy, a romantic interest for Raj. In addition to appearing in eight episodes across three
03:06seasons of The Big Bang Theory, Micucci is in high demand as a voice actor. Since 2015,
03:11she's voiced Velma in nearly two dozen Scooby-Doo productions. If you have kids, you might have
03:15also overheard her voice as Sadie Miller in Steven Universe, Webby Vanderquack in DuckTales,
03:20and Daisy in Nature Cat. With over 160 credits, losing out on the role of Amy doesn't seem
03:25to have affected her career prospects in the least.