Parsons & Cuoco Had Only One Take to Film That Intimate Scene on TBBT
The iconic scene was quite difficult to get right, but the actors nailed it.
For more than a decade, CBS' The Big Bang Theory was one of the most popular sitcoms on the air, and for good reason. Viewers loved tuning in every week because each character felt like an old friend to them, and while the story itself was interesting, fans took pleasure in knowing that neither Sheldon, Penny, or Leonard would ever change or betray each other.
So, when people saw Sheldon and Penny doing it in front of Leonard in Season 9 Episode 2, the entire fandom was incredibly shocked.
Even though it was only a nightmare, the fact that actors Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parsons made out in front of Johnny Galecki's Leonard (and a live audience) was something people could not forget. The scene became one of the most iconic in TBBT history, so Parsons eventually decided to share some behind-the-scenes anecdotes, revealing that kissing Cuoco was surprisingly easy for him.
'It was really fun — and, very honestly, really easy. The first time we rehearsed it was literally just like an extension of the verbal dance we've been doing for eight and a half years. It's always awkward to a degree, but this was shockingly easy. We had so much fun. It was so much fun to do it live in front of the audience. You have one shot to do it right in front of an audience like that,' Parsons said.
So, while the actor was quite comfortable kissing Cuoco in front of the cameras, it looks like the whole creative team was a bit worried about getting the perfect scene in just one take. It was crucial to capture the audience's reaction to the sudden kiss, otherwise the whole scene wouldn't work.
Fortunately, the actors nailed the kiss from the start, triggering a shocked response from the live audience. As a result, the risk of shooting the scene in just one take paid off beautifully.
Sadly, Parsons and Cuoco never kissed again, even though fans began to ship their characters after that scene, dreaming that Chuck Lorre would allow another Leonard nightmare to appear on screen.
Source: Glamour.