Kaley Cuoco’s career has certainly grown by leaps and bounds since The Big Bang Theory wrapped. The now 38-year-old has leveraged her Big Bang Theory fame to land standout roles in shows like The Flight Attendant and Harley Quinn. What’s more, the show’s lucrative syndication deals have continued to keep her pockets lined, boosting her net worth to an eye-watering $110 million.
But there was a time when these tremendous perks were set to go to an entirely different actress altogether; Amanda Walsh. Fresh off her leading role in the short-lived ABC sitcom Sons & Daughters, Walsh was poised to play Katie, a Penny-esque character from an unaired Big Bang Theory pilot. But that was before the unexpected script change that ultimately saw the role go to Cuoco.
How Did Amanda Walsh Feel About Being Replaced With Kaley Cuoco In The Big Bang Theory?
A year after shooting the original pilot, TBBT producers had reworked Katie into the sunny and bubbly Penny audiences came to love. Although Walsh was eager to put herself back in the running for the role, CBS executives were completely opposed to the idea.
“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,” TBBT executive producer Bill Prady shared in The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series. “CBS knew that Katie had scored badly among test audiences.”
The new role ultimately went to Kaley Cuoco, who’d incidentally auditioned for the original role and been rejected on multiple occasions. Walsh would later share her feelings about losing the extremely lucrative role in The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series
“Time is really the best helper for those things. I leaned on friends who had been in LA for a long time,” she said. “I became an actor because I love to act, so that’s what I was going to keep on doing. Big Bang wasn’t my path, and I’m at peace with that. For people outside of the industry, I could see how that could be hard to imagine. But as a writer as well, I understand you have to try things a few different ways to figure out what works. I was part of a process that resulted in a show that reached a lot of people, and that’s cool.”
Amanda Walsh Played A Penny-Esque Character In An Unaired Big Bang Theory Pilot
After 12 rip-roaring seasons, The Big Bang Theory fans were completely enamored with Penny’s wholesome Midwestern charm and bubbly personality. But there was a time when the TBBT producers were toying with an entirely different vision for the character.
Actresses Who Almost Starred As Penny In The Big Bang Theory
- Amanda Walsh
- Jodi Lyn O’Keefe
- Marisa Tomei
- Elizabeth Berkely
In place of the sunny, bubbly, and quick-witted Penny fans came to adore, the show was originally set to feature a cynical, down-on her-luck character named Katie. Although multiple actresses auditioned for the role, including Kaley Cuoco, producers ultimately settled on Amanda Walsh, then fresh off her starring role in the ABC sitcom, Sons & Daughters.
Why Was Amada Walsh Dropped From The Big Bang Theory?
Unfortunately, when it came down to filming the pilot, something just wasn’t clicking. In her interview for Jessica Radloff's The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, Walsh explained just how chaotic the producers’ vision for Katie turned out to be.
“I always felt like I was trying to hit exactly what they needed but the target kept moving,” she said. “There was a lot being figured out and retooled as we were moving through it. I feel like on Monday the character was a party girl who picked the wrong guys, and by the end of the week I had blown up a car and was homeless!”
Unsurprisingly, test audiences found the Katie character a bit off-putting, and producers were forced to come up with an entirely different vision for the role; one that didn’t include Amanda Walsh. In her interview for the Radloff book, Walsh acknowledged how unexpected the news was.
“It was a crazy twenty-four hours because I found out Sons & Daughters was not getting picked up,” she said. “And then I found out that Big Bang Theory wasn’t getting picked up, either, but it was going to be retooled—except with a new character, without me.”
