The 5 authentic main cast members on “The Big Bang Theory” — namely, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, and Kaley Cuoco as Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, and Penny, respectively — seem in mainly each episode of the sequence, however there’s one main exception. Cuoco, an avid horseback rider, bought significantly injured throughout a journey in September 2010 — and consequently, she missed two episodes of the present’s fourth season (particularly, the fifth and sixth episodes “The Desperation Emanation” and “The Irish Pub Formulation”).
As Jessica Radloff particulars in her 2022 e book “The Huge Bang Idea: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Sequence,” Cuoco was using at a ranch outdoors of Los Angeles when the horse unexpectedly threw her … and stepped on her left leg. (In accordance with the e book, she advised talk-show host Ellen Degeneres of the incident, “I did not really feel something, however then I seemed and I am like, ‘Wow, my foot’s dealing with me… that is not regular.'”) Cuoco was rushed to a hospital, and as “The Huge Bang Idea” creator Chuck Lorre advised Radloff, it was a tough time for the sequence.
“That was the darkest, most scary time in all twelve years,” Lorre recalled. “Kaley may have misplaced her leg. It was a sequence of miracles that allowed us to get via that and for her to return out the opposite finish of that wholesome.” The whole lot ended up okay — thanks largely to Lorre’s connections, which I will circle again to momentarily — but it surely’s value noting that in Lorre’s 309th vainness card on the sequence, Lorre introduced “new rules governing acceptable leisure actions for the solid of The Huge Bang Idea,” with the primary being, “No friggin’ horses. This contains these discovered on merry-go-rounds and in entrance of supermarkets.”
Kaley Cuoco really got here near dropping her leg after a devastating horseback-riding accident
For her half, Kaley Cuoco additionally advised Jessica Radloff that the expertise was terrifying … partly as a result of she signed a doc earlier than surgical procedure agreeing that medical doctors may amputate her leg in the event that they completely wanted to. “The whole lot ended up tremendous, and I used to be up and dealing per week later, however the medical doctors acted like I used to be by no means going to stroll once more,” Cuoco recalled, remarking that she understood that the expertise was scary … and was simply glad all of it labored out okay. “It is nonetheless an excessive amount of for me to enter, and it sounded manner worse than it was. And naturally it was spiraling and everybody was freaking out, which I get. It scared folks.”
Not solely did Cuoco come out of this horrifying scenario together with her leg intact, she additionally had some weird priorities when she first awakened from her process. “My accident additionally occurred after we have been in the midst of one among our greatest contract negotiations,” Cuoco advised Radloff. “I do not know what possessed me to say this — and it’s so f***ed up given how critical the harm was — however the minute I got here out of restoration from surgical procedure, I stated to Johnny, ‘Did the deal shut?’ And he stated, ‘Yeah, we bought it.’ It had closed whereas I used to be in surgical procedure, and of all issues, that is what was on my thoughts. So horrible.”
So how did Chuck Lorre assist Cuoco out throughout her genuinely scary medical emergency? As he recalled within the e book, he was reeling over information of Cuoco’s harm when he unexpectedly ran right into a pal, Dr. Stephen Lombardo, who simply so occurred to work in a significant orthopedic clinic at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Lorre requested for the nice physician’s help, which helped get Cuoco into surgical procedure sooner. “However it was a completely miraculous intervention that I bumped into Dr. Steve on that golf course,” Lorre mused. “Each time I see him, I say, ‘Thanks! You saved Kaley! On a lesser degree, you saved ‘The Huge Bang Idea’!'”
The Huge Bang Idea got here up with some very artistic methods to cover Kaley Cuoco’s harm
Everyone knows that when actresses are pregnant, TV exhibits go to nice lengths to cover their rising bellies … and the identical was true for Kaley Cuoco after her orthopedic surgical procedure. Although she was cleared to return to work, she was in a boot, so Chuck Lorre and his group got here up with a really amusing resolution.
“She was a trooper,” Johnny Galecki advised Jessica Radloff within the e book. “They put Kaley behind a variety of issues on the set, just like the sofa or the bar, so that you could not see the boot.” So what bar was that? “We made her a bartender at The Cheesecake Manufacturing unit to cover her harm!” Lorre laughed. “And she or he was a horrible bartender! We simply needed to maintain her off her toes as a lot as doable. She’s a terrific actress, however she additionally trains like a world-class athlete. She performed aggressive tennis early in her life, and she or he’s ruthless about bodily conditioning, which I believe had rather a lot to do together with her quick restoration.”
In accordance with Cuoco herself, there have been just a few different scenes that required some Hollywood trickery — like one together with her on-screen dad Wyatt (Keith Carradine) within the season 4 episode “The Boyfriend Complexity.” In a scene the place Penny “storms” into her bed room, Cuoco stated the crew got here up with one thing intelligent: “That’s not me strolling to my bed room. That was the one occasion the place we used a physique double for me as a result of I had my boot on from the accident, so if you happen to look intently, you’ll be able to inform. They needed me to storm out, however I wasn’t capable of stroll that quick but. And in all of the scenes in that episode, if you happen to pay shut consideration, I am not transferring. It is so sensible. So the one time I needed to actually transfer, it was a physique double.” In one other scene from that season, Cuoco says you’ll be able to see a boot hidden in Penny’s Surprise Girl costume if you happen to pay shut consideration. Clearly, everybody was extraordinarily fortunate that Cuoco recovered … and fortunate, the one actual end result of her harm was a handful of humorous anecdotes about filming.
