Easily one of the most successful TV shows in many years, The Big Bang Theory was incredibly popular with viewers. That popularity has led to a lot of interest in why a scene was banned, the actor who played different characters on the show and its spin-offs, and the gross thing Mayim Bialik did for a scene. Even though Joe Rogan found The Big Bang Theory's success strange, fans also care about the show traumatizing a former teen star and Craig Ferguson's unofficial cameo.

Since The Big Bang Theory featured many guest stars, including a legend who Jim Parsons loved working with, there is also a lot of interest in them. Despite that, many The Big Bang Theory fans have no idea that the show's most popular recurring guest star constantly worried he would be fired from the show.

Why Wil Wheaton Feared He'd Be Fired From The Big Bang Theory After Each Episode He Filmed

Since The Big Bang Theory starred several characters who were obsessed with pop culture, the show was perfectly crafted to feature celebrity cameos. Thanks to that and the fact that The Big Bang Theory was so popular, the show featured an incredibly star-studded list of guest stars.

In many cases, those guest stars only appeared in one episode. However, Wil Wheaton became a staple of the show who appeared in almost every season. As a result of how many appearances Wil made and the fact that his The Big Bang Theory version of himself was beloved, it is easy to argue he was the most popular recurring guest star.

Even though there were a slew of The Big Bang Theory fans who were happy every time Wil showed up, he clearly didn't have confidence in his role on the show. Instead, it turns out that Wil feared he'd be fired from The Big Bang Theory after filming every episode he appeared in.

In February 2019, Wil was interviewed by Cleveland.com about his The Big Bang Theory experience.

It was during that conversation that Wil revealed that he truly was scared about getting fired after every The Big Bang Theory episode he filmed.

"After every episode, I was afraid I was going to get fired."

Given how many times Wil was asked to appear on the popular sitcom, that begs an obvious question. Why was Will so convinced that his The Big Bang Theory role was in so much peril?

One of the things that it is important for people to understand is that they can never actually know what other people are coping with. One perfect example of that is the fact that even though famous actors seem to have it all together, they can be dealing with problems that the world doesn't see.

According to IMDb, Wil Wheaton appeared in 17 episodes of The Big Bang Theory. After making his first appearance on the show during its third season, Wil showed up in every other season of the show that followed that.

To Wil's eternal credit, he has been very open about his struggles over the years. After all, when a famous and successful actor speaks about their mental health struggles, that is bound to make other people feel less alone. With that in mind, it was powerful that Wil told Cleveland.com that he was scared he'd be fired because of the anxiety he copes with.

“I live with so much anxiety, I tend to be very hard on myself."

When Wil spoke to Cleveland.com in February 2019, it was after the last The Big Bang Theory episode he appeared in aired. That fact allowed Wil to look back at his entire The Big Bang Theory experience at the time.

In April 2019, Wil Wheaton spoke to TVInsider about playing a fictional version of himself on The Big Bang Theory. During that conversation, Wil explained the first decision he made to make the TV version of himself different from who he truly is. "The first choice that I made as an actor was that the version of Wil Wheaton, who appears in TBBT universe, isn’t married, which immediately took me out of my head and my comfort zone to where I could think [of me] as a different character. He is who I would be if I’d never met my wife."

Amazingly enough, Wil told the outlet that it was only after filming his final episode that he could finally stop worrying he would be fired.

“It wasn’t until this last one that I actually thought, ‘They’re not going hire someone else to play Wil Wheaton.’"

To be clear, Wil didn't put the blame on any of The Big Bang Theory's stars or the people in charge of the show for his constant worries.

While talking to Cleveland.com, Wil praised the team behind The Big Bang Theory for always treating him well on the show.

“One of the reasons that I felt so much joy on this show, and feel so much sorrow about it coming to an end, is that the cast and crew and producers and writers always made me feel like I was a valued part of their group and that I deserved to be there. But because of my anxiety, it took me a while to accept that.”

Sadly for Wil, he ultimately explained to Cleveland.com that he finally felt like he could enjoy his The Big Bang Theory experience right as it was ending.

"By the time I got out of my own way and allowed myself to fully enjoy that experience, the show’s over.”

Wil Wheaton Initially Didn't Want To Portray Himself On The Big Bang Theory

As The Big Bang Theory fans will already know, Wil Wheaton didn't just portray a version of himself on the show. Instead, Will initially portrayed a version of himself who initially was a total jerk on the show, including being willing to lie about his grandma dying to win a game. However, there was a different reason why Wil initially didn't want to portray himself on The Big Bang Theory.

In October 2022, a book that chronicled the making of The Big Bang Theory that was written by Jessica Radloff was published. That book, which is available on Amazon, is titled "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series."

For that book, Wil explained the two reasons why he initially didn't want to portray himself on The Big Bang Theory.

"I felt playing myself was cheating ... that it's not something I've earned. Or it was going to be a one-off where someone would say, 'Hey, look, it's the kid from Star Trek,' and then it's over. And I didn't want that."

According to the book, The Big Bang Theory's co-creator and executive producer, Bill Prady, gave Wil an excellent argument for why he should portray himself on the sitcom.

"No actor likes to play themselves, but you are the only actor who can play Wil Wheaton."

Wil also revealed during his interview for the book that his friend, John Rogers, convinced him to take the role. According to Will, John told him off for not taking a role on a hit show by telling him to "get on the phone to Bill Prady and tell him you will do whatever he wants you to do or we're not friends."