Wil Wheaton thought he was being pranked when he got the call for The Big Bang Theory and initially didn’t want to play himself

Wil Wheaton thought he was being pranked when he got the call for The Big Bang Theory and initially didn’t want to play himself

The Big Bang Theory came to an end last month after an incredible 12 year stretch – and surprise, surprise we’re still not over it.

The CBS sitcom had a number of celebrity cameos during its impressive run but Wil Wheaton was undoubtedly the unsung hero, playing Sheldon Cooper’s (played by Jim Parsons) sworn nemesis… Wil Wheaton.

We can’t really imagine The Big Bang Theory without Wil, yet it turns out he initially wasn’t so keen on the idea of joining the cast as himself.

Metro.co.uk caught up with Wil to talk about how his role came about and he began by telling us that he was convinced the whole thing was an elaborate prank.




‘A little over 10 years ago I got an email from a woman who at the time was Bill Prady’s assistant,’ Wil began. ‘I didn’t recognise her email address so I actually thought it was a friend of mine playing a prank on me, because 10 years ago I thought there’s no way anybody in The Big Bang Theory is remotely interested in me. This has got to be a joke.

‘I emailed my manager and said, “Hey, I’m pretty sure this is one of my friends just taking the p***, but in case it’s not could you follow it up?” And my manager said, “This is Bill’s assistant. I’ve had a number of conversations and this is legitimate.”

‘At which point, everything changed because this became a real thing. So I called and Bill got on the phone and he pitched me the idea of me playing myself on the show. I said, “Listen, I’m a huge fan of the show, but I’m not really interested in playing myself. I would rather play a character on the show, sort of like Sara Gilbert is Leslie Winkle.

Wil Wheaton played an evil version of himself in The Big Bang Theory (Picture: CBS)

‘I remember very quickly Bill said, “I totally understand, I totally get it. I will tell you that when we are casting someone you can play, I’ll be thrilled to bring you in, but you are the only actor in the world who can play Wil Wheaton.”

‘I said, “I just need to think about it for a minute.” I called a friend of mine and told him what I just told you and my friend who was a showrunner and a creator and producer in his own right was quiet for a minute and then he just went off on me. I remember him saying, “What in the world is wrong with you? It’s the most popular series in television, of course you say yes to it! Of course you call him back right now and say yes. If you don’t call him back right now and say yes, we’re not friends anymore.”

‘I was like, “Okay, okay!”, so I called Bill back and he said, “So here’s the thing. Since we last talked, the role has changed a little bit. Instead of playing yourself, you’re playing a delightfully evil version of yourself.”



‘I said, “Well that sounds great, that’s a character! I’m on board! Let’s do it.” And about a week later I was on set.’

Wil wasn’t sure he wanted to play himself at first

(Picture: CBS)

Wil told us that he had absolutely zero input in his character’s development on The Big Bang Theory and didn’t dare to pitch ideas to the producers.

‘The writing on the show is so tight and the writers room is filled with such unbelievably talented individuals I never wanted any input,’ Wil admitted.

Speaking most sincerely, he continued: ‘They did such a good job building the comedy and building relationships and keeping the characters grounded in reality. Everything was so well written. I never had any ideas.

‘I felt it was incredibly presumptuous for me to suggest to any, “Oh, by the way, I have a better idea.” I never ever thought that and I never pitched my own ideas.’

That being said, the writers did borrow from Wil’s lived experience as a Hollywood actor a few times.

‘On a couple of occasions I had wonderful conversations with the writers, with Steve Mularo specifically. There were a couple of episodes where it was what my experiences as the actual Wil Wheaton.

‘One of those was an episode where Sheldon gets real famous and he’s sort of embarrassed about it, and I got to have a conversation with him about it and said that for a long time people only paid attention to this one thing I did and people are real mean about it, but I’ve got a really good life now.


‘I could have said that, I could have said that to someone who was having a hard day and that was really special to me. It was really special to me that they asked me for my personal input on things that have actually happened.’

Wil continued: ‘Another time where that happened was when Penny was deciding whether she wants to keep being an actor and Leonard brings her to sit down with Wil Wheaton and he tells her, “It’s really hard and sometime it just completely sucks, like sometimes you feel like you did the best job you could and you still don’t get it but nobody ever tells you why. It can be really hurtful and really exhausting.”

‘That’s a conversation I’ve actually had with people in my real life. Those moments were really meaningful to me. Those conversations and those story design moments all originated in the writers room, they didn’t originate from me.’

The Big Bang Theory seasons 1 to 11 are available to steam on Netflix.

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