Most fans of The Big Bang Theory think Kaley Cuoco was the perfect choice to play Penny, but she almost didn’t get the role.
The 39-year-old actress once shared that she was first rejected for the part. Many other Hollywood actresses were also trying out for it. But in a way, missing out at first might have been a good sign, depending on how you see it.
That’s because Penny was originally created as a grumpy, unlucky, and unlikable character—very different from the friendly Cheesecake Factory waitress we know and love.
Her name wasn’t even Penny at first. The producers had to change it to Katie because another CBS show already had a character with that name.
Even so, Cuoco “loved the role” and was excited about working with Big Bang Theory co-creator Chuck Lorre again. So, she was really disappointed when she didn’t get the part at first.
In Jessica Radloff’s 2022 book, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story, which revealed behind-the-scenes details about the show, the actress said: “I know Chuck really wanted me for the role of Katie, and I was definitely bummed when I didn’t get it, but I kind of have a way of moving on because you have to.”
Casting director Ken Miller admitted he was also disappointed that Cuoco didn’t get the role, according to a part of the book shared by The Hollywood Reporter.
Kaley Cuoco’s character was originally supposed to be ‘cynical, down on her luck, and off-putting’
He said: “She’s so sunny and bubbly, and they just loved her, but she just didn’t bring the dark qualities. She just wasn’t the essence of Penny in that first incarnation.”
The main female character in The Big Bang Theory was originally meant to be moodier and more experienced, according to the cast and crew Radloff interviewed for her book.
The author shared that Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei, 60, was the top choice for the role of Katie. She even auditioned with Jim Parsons, 51, who played Sheldon Cooper.
Thinking about the idea of Tomei starring with him, Parsons told Radloff: “Oh my gosh, what a different world that would have been.”
Producer Bill Prady shared that American Pie star Tara Reid, 49, also tried out for the role of Katie, along with Saved by the Bell actress Elizabeth Berkley, 52.
Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, best known for She’s All That, Whatever It Takes, and Prison Break, was actually chosen to play Katie in the pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory, but she was later let go.
At the first table read, the producers felt something wasn’t working, even though the cast got along well. This news was a big surprise to Parsons and his co-star Johnny Galecki, 49.
Thinking back on how he felt when he found out O’Keefe, 46, was let go “just 30 minutes” later, Parsons said: “I hadn’t done a ton of table reads in my career by that point, but I’m not an idiot – I know when someone’s not good.”
“And Jodi was great. I was stunned. But they realised during that table read that the character’s approach to the other characters was too harsh, too whatever, even though Jodi, in my opinion, nailed what they had written.”
Casting director Nikki Valko said that even though O’Keefe did a great job in the first pilot, The Big Bang Theory needed a “totally different” female lead.
“[O’Keefe] brought a darkness, which just didn’t work, so she was replaced after the table read,” Valko told Radloff. “We had to recast in three days, so I remember holding auditions Easter Sunday.”
Sons & Daughters actress Amanda Walsh was given the role of Katie for a short time, but the producers decided to start over and create something new.
That’s when Penny was created—and after competing against some big Hollywood stars, Cuoco got the call to come back.
