Kaley is having a blast on Big Bang Theory
NEW YORK (AP) I know this sounds like its not true, says Kaley Cuoco, but as huge as the show is, its just part of my life not my whole life.
The Big Bang Theory is huge all right. Now in its sixth season (airing on Thursdays on CBS at 9pm Bermuda time), it reigns as TVs hottest sitcom, and now hotter than ever with an average 19 million viewers each week.
As virtually every viewer knows by now, Big Bang centres on a gaggle of geeky Cal Tech scientists, chief among them Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki), apartment mates who, by great good sitcom fortune, live across the hall from Penny, played by Cuoco. Penny aspires to be an actress but pays the rent by waiting tables at a Cheesecake Factory.
Unlike the boys, Penny is no genius. But neither is she a dumb blonde, which is key to the genius of Big Bang.
Shes obviously not book-smart, says Cuoco, but shes street smart and good-hearted and can make fun of herself. The producers never made her ditzy. Maybe she doesnt always get what the guys are talking about. But in that way she represents most of the world.
It was pretty smart to make Penny the normal character through whom the audience can enter the abstruse, brainy realm the guys occupy. At the same time, sexy Penny presides as a universal object of desire.
Cuoco is totally up to the task of playing such a gal. During a recent mid-afternoon interview, she is hearty and self-possessed and comfortably glam.
She orders a vodka martini straight up, very cold, with a twist, she tells her waitress, then explains to the reporter, My new drink. My new thing.
All that, plus she has a sentimental streak.
Reflecting on what her hit sitcom has meant to other parts of her life, she mentions her parents her dad, a real estate agent who has weathered tough times, and her stay-at-home mom in Southern California. During her childhood, they often had to cut corners, she says, but I never noticed when things werent great.
This year, Im hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas with, like, 25 people at my house I can do that now. Her voice starts to tremble and her eyes moisten. Its emotional, cause I remember we could never afford that. The show has been the hugest blessing.
Cuoco, who turns 27 on November 30, grew up happy to be the centre of attention.
I was always very silly and never took myself seriously, she recalls. When my father had the camera out, Id be up close and annoying. My father would keep saying, Move back! Move back!
Her parents were supportive when she wanted to try acting, but if I wanted to audition, I had to play tennis (at which she excelled as a teenager). If I played tennis I had to be in a dance class. I always had multiple activities, so I never had to count on any one of them to feel successful.
She landed a role in a 1992 TV film starring Donald Sutherland. She played Maureen McCormick in the 2000 TV film Growing Up Brady. Along the way, she landed jobs in lots of episodic shows.
But by 2002, she was feeling discouraged. She hadnt worked in a year.
Then her agent phoned about a project called 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Reluctantly she auditioned for the part of the older daughter in a household whose loving but bewildered dad would be played by John Ritter. Cuoco got the role.
Though it built into a hit for ABC its first season, 8 Simple Rules is remembered mainly as the final project of the beloved Ritter, who died abruptly early in its second year. The show pushed on through a third season, but it never overcame Ritters tragic absence.
I just adored him, says Cuoco, unleashing a stream of memories of how he used to cut up on the set and how much she learned from him.
Hed put a potato chip on his shoulder and go, Do I have a chip on my shoulder? And we would just crack up! He would do it every day!
Working with him showed me that I loved sitcoms, she goes on.
Im a Bridesmaids type of girl. I love silliness. Thats who I am at heart, and I know I can do it. If my career path takes me elsewhere, thats great. But comedy is my forte.
Big Bang co-creator Chuck Lorre, who snagged Cuoco for the show, agrees.
Kaley was born to the form, he says in a separate interview. Theres an instinctive thing with comedy that some people have an elegance and gracefulness, where no effort is apparent.
But theres effort for Cuoco, and on the job it pushes her to question everything.
How could it not? she says with a laugh. I wonder, Why did I do that line that way? And I also constantly think Im fat and hate my teeth. But Ive gotten better over the years. Ive started to accept. She smiles, revealing nothing remotely wrong with those teeth. Its going to be fine.
Need to
Know
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service
Comments
You must be registered or signed-in to post comment or to vote.
Published Nov 16, 2012 at 8:00 am (Updated Nov 15, 2012 at 7:03 pm)