Mayim Bialik was thrilled to return to The Big Bang Theory universe, but it was strange being back without onscreen husband Jim Parsons.
“It’s just funny because I’ve only been married to one character in my life as an actor and that was Jim Parsons,” Bialik, 50, exclusively told Us. “So I think anything outside of that is definitely going to feel odd.”
During the Thursday, September 17, episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, Bialik made an appearance in a surprising role. Instead of reprising her character from the original series, Amy, Bialik portrayed another version who was married to The Flash in an alternate universe.
“In this case, it was more the fun of me as an actor. I normally wouldn’t be given the part of being The Flash’s wife anyway. So I think it was really fun to be able to have that generic comic book wife role but get to have the funny bits that they inserted into the Amy of it,” she shared. “But I definitely didn’t feel like Amy — per se — because we got to have so much flexibility with how we presented these characters.”
The Big Bang Theory aired from 2007 to 2019 and starred Parsons, Bialik, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar and Melissa Rauch as a group of friends made up of scientists and their significant others.
Bialik joined the show as Amy in 2010, later returning on Young Sheldon before her Stuart Fails to Save the Universe appearance.
“The Young Sheldon bit was a whole lot of meta, which I think was really cathartic in some ways. It’s rare that you get an opportunity — especially when playing a character like that — to have a cathartic moment,” Bialik noted. “Something that feels so satisfying for the audience and for that whole family and community. So I think that was a really special and very well-placed use of me and Jim that way.”
Bialik didn’t rule out making another return, adding, “I typically tend to trust the Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady universe in terms of creativity more than I trust my own. I am grateful to really have any opportunity to be part of whatever universe comes next.”
The actress, who also hosts the “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown” podcast, gushed about her time on set.
“I was mostly just excited for them,” she told Us. “The fact that I got asked to be part of it was really, really special. Honestly, I would have been happy to do anything to be involved and to be supportive. The fact that I got to create these different versions of Amy in this multiverse was kind of a bonus.”
Bialik added: “It’s nice not to be asked to have to recreate the job you had when you were 35. So it’s also nice that there is some flexibility in the identity that we got to create.”
New episodes of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe air Thursdays on HBO Max.
