Before landing the role of Aunt May in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marisa Tomei was almost cast as a part of The Big Bang Theory family. Recent revelations have surfaced regarding unaired pilot episodes and several characters who were cut from the final show.
One of the characters that failed to make an appearance on the show was Marisa Tomei’s character Katie, who almost got a chance to replace Kaley Cuoco’s iconic Penny role.
Marisa Tomei’s character was cut from the final version
Before there was Kaley Cuoco’s charismatic Penny, there was a canceled Katie character. The initial draft for the 2007 series did not have Penny among the many many characters the series had created.
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It was The Hollywood Reporter who got a preview of the upcoming book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff. The book offers the details and changes that were made before and during the series and works as a background for the show spanning 12 seasons!
The original project featured a character named Katie who is described as a “Cynical, unlucky and off-putting” neighbor of Leonard and Sheldon. Marisa Tomei was originally cast in the role and would have been on the show as well had it not been for the changes to the storyline and the introduction of the character Penny to the show.
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Audition of Jim Parson with Marisa Tomei
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During the first days of The Big Bang Theory When Marisa Tomei was cast as Katie, she auditioned with Jim Parsons. Jim Parsons, known for playing the character of Sheldon Cooper, recounted his experience during the audition.
“I had the role of Sheldon for a long time before it was all settled. I read with Marisa Tomei. Johnny [Galecki] was cast at that time, but he was doing a play in New York. I had come back to read with her. I remember going to the snack after I finished and telling Ken and Nikki [Valko, casting director], “I’ve never auditioned for someone else before!” And they said, “Well, she was actually auditioning you.” And I went, “Oh, that makes sense.” But oh my, what a different world that would have been.
Katie’s character was the complete opposite of what Penny was for the entire duration of The Big Bang Theory. Katie was cynical, unlucky and off-putting while Kaley Cuoco’s Penny was enthusiastic, confident and a bubbly person overall. The Big Bang Theory with its inception in 2007 ended the series in 2019 with 12 seasons under its belt.
The Big Bang The theory is available to stream on HBO Max. The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff should be available for sale from October 11, 2022.
Source: Screenrant
