Summary
- The Big Bang Theory cast frequently pulled pranks on each other.
- The cast was banned from on-set pranks after a terrible incident.
- One prank went wrong when Cuoco was accidentally hit in the head with a chair.
It's been nearly half a decade since The Big Bang Theory's finale aired, yet the show is still a topic of constant fascination among fans, and it's not exactly a mystery why that's the case.
When they weren't tugging at our heartstrings with emotionally charged scenes, The Big Bang Theory episodes were a riot, with the cast indulging in a gamut of cheeky shenanigans. As it turns out, things weren't all that different behind the scenes, as the cast routinely one-upped each other with on-set pranks.
However, just like their characters, there were times when The Big Bang Theory cast took things a bit too far. In fact, one on-set prank involving Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco turned so gruesome, it led to a complete ban on on-set tomfoolery.
The Big Bang Theory Cast Pulled Some Epic Pranks On Each Other While Filming The Show
From Raj hiding a snake in Sheldon's desk drawer in The Good Guy Fluctuation to Sheldon booby-trapping Barry Kripke's lab in The Vengeance Formulation, The Big Bang Theory was packed to the brim with mindless hijinks and shenanigans.
As it turns out, the tomfoolery wasn't restricted to when the cameras were rolling. During her appearance on the Late Show in 2012, Kaley Cuoco revealed that the cast made a point of pranking her each time she fell asleep behind the scenes.
"I open my phone, I have like 20 text messages," she shared with David Letterman. "I’m like, oh, I’m so famous! I’m so popular. No! It’s from my cast who are sending me photos of me asleep."
In fact, on-set pranks had become so common on the show that Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco suspected Chuck Lorre of trying to mess with them by adding more passionate scenes for their characters almost immediately after their real-life romance fizzled out.
“When we broke up obviously it was a little sensitive for a minute, but I remember those weeks that Chuck had written these episodes where all of a sudden our characters were like sleeping together every other second,” Kaley Cuoco recalled in a 2020 interview with Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.
“Johnny and I talk about it and I think [Chuck] did that on purpose just to f**k with us,” she continued. “Because that came out of nowhere. All of a sudden these characters were all up on each other.”
Johnny Galecki And Kaley Cuoco Once Pulled An On-Set Prank That Went Terribly Wrong
While most of the pranks the cast pulled on each other were completely harmless, there were times when they took their penchant for shenanigans a bit too far. One such instance occurred when Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco decided to prank the cast and crew while filming Season 6's Valentine's Day episode, which features a rather intense spat between Penny and Leonard.
"We decided to do a (surprise) prank where Johnny punches me," Kaley Cuoco recounted during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "I go flying off the chair, the chair comes after me…the writers are laughing, Chuck Lorre's laughing, everyone's cracking up."
However, it wasn't long before things started veering off track. “I fell over, and the chair, and no one knew this and I didn't either, clocked me in the head," Cuoco explained during her 2017 appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con. "I just thought 'Oh, it's a little bruise,' but I'm still acting. I'm under (the table), and he's still punching me and throwing the hair, and I come back up and I'm like 'How did it look?'”
Oblivious to the extent of her injury, Cuoco didn't realize how horribly wrong the prank had gone for a few moments. "Everyone thought I was under the table painting blood on my face, (but) I had cracked my head open," Cuoco shared with Jimmy Kimmel in 2013. "I had blood squirting down my face. I didn't even know!"
According to Cuoco, the cast completely unraveled after seeing the extent of her injuries. "We don't have a very macho group of people,” she said. “Johnny's in tears, Simon's vomiting in the corner, the blood is gushing down my face. I was amazed at how much was on my face … I thought it was the most awesome thing in the world."
The Big Bang Theory Cast Was Banned From Doing On-Set Pranks After Kaley Cuoco Got Injured On Set
Kaley Cuoco's injuries from the incident were so severe that she required multiple stitches and still had a black eye weeks later. The Flight Attendant star was even forced to attend the 2013 Screen Actors’ Guild Awards wearing faux bangs; an unfortunate choice that earned her a harsh reprimand from critics.
"It was really, really bad so I decided to have the brilliant idea to get bangs," she shared with Jimmy Kimmel. "As you can see, I don't have bangs, so I had to get fake bangs. A bunch of [my stylists] said, 'Let's maybe not do the bangs,' but I wanted to wear them because it covered my eye, and I was really insecure about this huge black eye. These bangs, which I've named Bev, almost ruined my entire career."
Predictably, the gruesome incident prompted a ban on on-set pranks, which persisted until the show closed its final chapter in 2018. “We’re not allowed to do those jokes anymore,” Cuoco shared with the crowd at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con.
According to Cuoco, the producers even erected posters around the set to discourage any further shenanigans. "I had to get stitches that day and come shoot the next day,” she said. “I got back and there were signs that said, 'No fun allowed on the Big Bang set.'"
