Static Media
When you mention “The Big Bang Theory,” it’s hard not to think of the hit CBS sitcom masterminded by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, which is best-known for its five original leading actors – Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, and Kaley Cuoco. Interestingly, Nayyar was momentarily let go before being brought back by Lorre to play the character of Raj Koothrappali (despite resistance from CBS), and Cuoco wasn’t the first to assume the role of Penny. Initially, the character was named Katie, and she was meant to act as a counterbalance to Parsons’ Sheldon Cooper and Galecki’s Leonard Hofstadter. But who was the actress who first brought her to life, and where is she now?
Amanda Walsh was the first to portray the main female role on the show, Katie, who unfortunately didn’t quite fit into “The Big Bang Theory.” In Jessica Radloff’s insightful book “The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series,” Lorre, Prady, Galecki, Parsons, and Walsh herself discussed the issues they faced with the original pilot featuring Katie, the misguided direction that led Walsh astray during filming, and her career trajectory since her version of “The Big Bang Theory” was discarded.
Amanda Walsh faced directional challenges while filming the original Big Bang Theory pilot
CBS
As revealed in Radloff’s book, Amanda Walsh had previously auditioned for “The Big Bang Theory” but was not selected. However, when the creators decided to revamp Katie into a more assertive and harsh character, she was brought back, leading to new issues for the original pilot. According to Jim Parsons, “They brought in Amanda, with the assumption being that her mere presence would soften the character … which is just a tough position to be in because the role wasn’t really written for her.”
“I just remember Amanda being such a sweet person, and they kept pushing her to be harsher, because Katie was very street savvy,” Galecki said, agreeing with Parsons and saying that some of the direction that Walsh received just didn’t end up working. “[Director Jimmy] Burrows asked her to work in the blue so that the lines would reverberate into that sharper, more kind of feral manner, so even when you took the filthy words out, you were in that mind frame,” he continued. “And that helped her an incredible amount. But ironically, the way they were pushing her — into that place of street-smart and maybe deceptive and duplicitous as a character — was what ended up being wrong with the character because the audience immediately felt so protective of Leonard and Sheldon.”
Walsh herself admitted that the entire process was intense and challenging, but she believed they had found a solution…and she was sure to mention that Lorre was a pleasure to work with. “It was one of the hardest weeks professionally that I’ve gone through, but by the end I felt like we landed on something,” Walsh reflected. “And Chuck was incredibly supportive through it all.”
Amanda Walsh’s character was ultimately reworked and completely recast
CBS
In the end, the directional approach implemented by Jimmy Burrows and the character formulation by Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre did Amanda Walsh’s performance a great disservice. According to Radloff’s book, CBS specifically pointed out Walsh’s poor reception with test audiences. However, Lorre and Prady accepted full responsibility for the network’s dissatisfaction with her performance. (Nina Tassler, the former president of entertainment at CBS, who also spoke with Radloff, opined that while Sheldon and Leonard’s chemistry was superb, Katie didn’t gel with them. As she explained to Radloff, “The Katie character didn’t really service Sheldon and Leonard’s relationship. She was tougher and edgier, really down on her luck.”)
“Amanda did exactly what was asked of her, and she did it beautifully,” Lorre observed. “I certainly didn’t understand that despite Sheldon and Leonard’s intelligence, they were like children, and you couldn’t put a toxic character next to them like that. It broke your heart.” Prady supported him, stating, “When we were doing the pilot a second time, Amanda’s team asked if she could come in to audition again, but the network was not receptive to that. CBS knew that Katie had scored badly among test audiences. Chuck and I were very upfront in saying that the reason the character scored poorly was because the [role of] Katie was written badly. But we were not able to persuade them to see her again.”
Amanda Walsh has been thriving since her stint on the original pilot of The Big Bang Theory
Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
Amanda Walsh is quick to assure you that she’s been doing exceptionally well since Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady revamped “The Big Bang Theory” to feature Kaley Cuoco’s friendly, social Penny instead of Walsh’s prickly character, Katie. In fact, as she disclosed to Jessica Radloff, she transitioned into writing and story editing for “Schitt’s Creek,” another successful sitcom that swept the Emmys. “It was really cool to be a part of it from the beginning, especially getting to write for Catherine O’Hara and having Eugene Levy in the writers room,” Walsh expressed, underscoring that her experience on “Schitt’s Creek” was crucial to her career trajectory, and she believes that everything happened for the best.
“I think being an actor makes me a better writer, and being a writer makes me a better actor,” Walsh elaborated. “And I really trust that this was my path. It really was one week of my life. It was one pilot out of many. I never wanted that story to be taken out of context or seen in the wrong light. I was protective of it in that way, and all the people I
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