Summary

• Auditioning for The Big Bang Theory was a long shot for Kunal Nayyar with limited acting experience.
• Rajesh Koothrappali's character was inspired by a real-life friend of co-creator, Bill Prady.
• Bill Prady's vision for the show made Jim Parsons' performance as Sheldon Cooper unforgettable.

Kunal Nayyar is well aware, he and his castmates created magic with The Big Bang Theory. Despite the fact that Nayyar continues to enjoy a stellar career, for fans of Big Bang Theory, he'll always be recognized as Raj for his work on the sitcom for 12 seasons.

Nayyar landing the role on The Big Bang Theory was a complete long shot. According to the actor, he entered the audition with little expectations and a limited resume. We'll take a look back at how his audition went and why he landed the role.

In addition, we'll take a look at a neat behind-the-scenes fact that discusses the inspiration behind Rajesh Koothrappali's character. According to Nayyar, it is a real person, based on a friend of co-creator, Bill Prady.

Updated March 2024: Kunal Nayyar has not slowed down with his career since 'The Big Bang Theory' ended. He has enjoyed success with the 'Trolls' film franchise, guest starred in several TV series, and even appeared on 'Night Court' with former 'TBBT' co-star, Melissa Rauch in February 2024. With projects slated to be released in 2024, including 'How to Date Billy Walsh' coming out in April 2024, the limited experience that Nayyar had when coming into 'The Big Bang Theory' is a thing of the past.

Kunal Nayyar Had Limited Experience Heading Into His Big Bang Theory Audition

Nayyar only had a small role on NCIS on his resume when he auditioned for Big Bang Theory

Kunal Nayyar admitted that entering his Big Bang Theory audition, expectations were quite low, especially given that he was new to the business at that point, having done a small cameo on NCIS.

Nayyar felt strongly about the audition, getting some laughs from both Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, the co-creators.

He recalled the experience alongside The Hollywood Reporter.

"It was amazing. I had no idea I was going to get the role. I remember [co-creators] Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady laughing a lot and I just felt so much in my element," Nayyar explained. "I'd just gotten my MFA in acting from Temple University and was high on life and just got back from the Royal Shakespeare Company in England."

Nayyar further credited the fact that he was naive towards the pressure that came with such a role.

"I wasn't jaded and didn't understand the weight of the situation," Nayyar said. "This was my second job, I played a terrorist on NCIS. I didn't understand the gravitas of the situation and just walked in. That was so dumb!"

Clearly, Nayyar was the right choice for the role, and he blossomed on the sitcom. When asked if he related to Raj in real life, the actor had an interesting answer lots of fans did not know.

Raj's Character On The Big Bang Theory Is Based On Co-Creator Bill Prady's Friend

Kunal Nayyar's character Raj, took on personality traits that Bill Prady's friend possessed

During his interview alongside Oh No They Didn't, Nayyar revealed some interesting information. According to the actor, Raj is actually based on a real-life person, who also struggled with shyness.

"It is a recognized disease called selective mutism. The character is based on a friend of [co-creator] Bill Prady's who had this pathological shyness," Nayyar stated. "He's since gotten married and had kids, so he's been cured of it."

Raj also revealed at the time that he thought his character would never end up talking to girls without 'liquid courage', however, Big Bang fans know that wouldn't be the case and would change along the way.

Bill Prady Was Praised For His Vision Of Big Bang Theory, Especially When It Came To Jim Parsons As Sheldon

Bill Prady's contributions to The Big Bang Theory helped make the show the success it became

Bill Prady had the right vision for Big Bang Theory, and it made Raj's character entertaining to watch. However, Prady made another massive contribution, and it deals with Jim Parsons getting cast as Sheldon.

According to Prady, nobody came close to Parsons' performance in the role. However, Chuck Lorre disagreed, thinking Parsons wouldn't be able to duplicate such a performance on the regular.

"He left the room and I turned and I went, 'That's the guy! That's the guy! That's the guy!"' Prady explained. "And Chuck turned and he said, 'Nah, he's gonna break your heart. He'll never give you that performance again."

Prady admitted it was one of the few times he was right in his assessment over Lorre, "I have to say, in the story of my relationship with Chuck, the number of times that I'm right and Chuck is wrong may be... I'm gonna go with one."

"This may be the only example of where I actually was right," Prady said. "And Jim Parsons came back in the next day and gave us that exact same performance again. It was like, 'This is Sheldon.'"

Parsons turned out to be the standout of the show, and the sitcom never looked back for 12 great seasons.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter