Given the nerdy, geeky, and scientific theme of the show, it is no surprise that The Big Bang Theory has featured a myriad of celebrities, athletes, actors, and scientists as guest stars over its long lifetime. Some celebrity cameos were more memorable than others, since they included big names such as Stephen Hawking, Stan Lee, and Mark Hamill, but there were also a handful of fun yet overshadowed celebrity appearances most viewers and fans seemed to have forgotten.
Although not as well known, these celebrity appearances were still just as funny and high profile as any other on the series.
10 Joe Manganiello, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, And A Group Of Celebs Played D&D
In the Season 12 episode “The D&D Vortex,” Wil Wheaton hosts a D&D game night featuring Kevin Smith, William Shatner, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Joe Manganiello. At first, Stuart was also involved but quit, leading Leonard to fill his place in the group. But after blabbing about it to the gang, Leonard is kicked out. Wil Wheaton then invites all the girls to D&D night.
Amy talks to Joe, telling him how much she enjoyed him in Magic Mike, creeping him out. Bernadette tells Kareem that she and her father watched Kareem win back-to-back basketball championships, to which Kareem responds by telling her that he saw her sniffing Joe’s hair. Unbeknownst to some, Manganiello is actually an avid Dungeons and Dragons fan.
9 Steven Yeun’s Character Warned Leonard Of Sheldon
In a flashback scene from Season 3’s “The Staircase Implementation,” a young and naïve Leonard runs into a distraught individual exiting an elevator in his future apartment building. The individual, played by Steven Yeun and apparently named Sebastian, warns Leonard to stay away from the newly opened room for rent.
Later in the episode, when Leonard first sees his room, the words “Die Sheldon Die” are written on the walls in red; it was heavily implied that Yeun’s character was the one who wrote it. What made Yeun’s appearance noteworthy was that this cameo was before the premiere of The Walking Dead, so he was a relatively unknown actor at this point. Furthermore, this was also one of Yeun’s earliest appearances on a television show.
8 Courtney Ford Played An Attractive Comic Book Artist Leonard Meets At The Comic Book Store
While dating Priya, Leonard meets an attractive comic book artist named Alice at the comic book store, played by Courtney Ford. After some passionate kissing sessions, he calls everything off, revealing to Alice that he cheated on his girlfriend with her.
Ford was no stranger to the comic book world as she was and is married to Brandon Routh, who played Superman in Superman Returns. Ford and Routh would later appear in The Legends of Tomorrow as Ray Palmer and Nora Darhk.
7 Teller (Of The Duo Penn & Teller) Played Amy’s Father
The usually silent Teller of the magic and entertainment duo Penn & Teller played Mr. Fowler, Amy’s dad, for three episodes. He first appeared at Amy and Sheldon’s wedding in “The Bow Tie Asymmetry,” then again in “The Conjugal Configuration,” and finally in “The Consummation Deviation” where he is bewildered by Howard’s magic tricks.
Like Leonard, Leonards’ father, and Raj’s Father, Larry Fowler is often in the shadows of his more dominant wife, played by Kathy Bates, and is stuck in a loveless marriage. Because of his fascination with Howard’s magic tricks, he has a stronger connection with Howard than Sheldon, a nod to how Bernadette’s dad had a stronger bond with Sheldon than his son-in-law.
6 Howie Mandel Arrived At The Airport With Howard
Howard finally returned home from space in Season 6’s “The Re-Entry Minimization” where he was greeted by Bernadette and what he thought was a big crowd of fans chanting his name, “Howie.” In reality, Howard was standing next to Howie Mandel, another passenger on his plane from Houston. Mandel then assured Howard that the paparazzi were there to see him saying, “I think they’re here for me Ringo.” Mandel proceeds to leave the airport, expressing his disbelief that Howard was an astronaut, something Howard seemingly bragged about on the plane.
5 Brent Spiner Burned Some Bridges With Sheldon
In Season 5’s “The Russian Rocket Reaction” Sheldon decides to attend Wil Wheaton’s house party with Raj and Leonard. Wheaton surprises Sheldon with a signed original mint-in-package Wesley Crusher action figure, dissolving the quarrel between the two.
Brent Spiner then shows up in the middle of a warm embrace between Wheaton and Sheldon and opens the action figure, immediately bestowing himself on Sheldon’s enemies list. Raj and Leonard later bargain with Spiner on some signed Data action figures. Although a nice tease, the show never developed Sheldon and Spiner’s conflict.
4 Charlie Sheen Was Unimpressed By Raj’s Achievement
Raj was listed as one of the 30 Visionaries Under 30 To Watch in People Magazine in Season 2’s “The Griffin Equivalency.” After gloating, getting drunk, and driving off his friends at the Cheesecake Factory, he brags to a patron at another table. The patron, Charlie Sheen, turns around and tells Raj to call him when he’s on the cover.
In hindsight, the cameo was random, unexpected, and completely ironic. At this point, Sheen was still on Two and a Half Men, another Chuck Lorre show, but would part ways with the series and the network three years later because of a deranged rant against Lorre.
3 Billy Bob Thornton Was One Of Penny’s Creepy Sales Clients
In Season 8’s “The Misinterpretation Agitation” Billy Bob Thornton played Dr. Oliver Lorvis, a creepy celebrity urologist who misinterpreted Penny’s sales tactics as flirtation. He shows up at Penny’s apartment with flowers only to be greeted and turned away by Leonard and the gang.
Feeling sorry for him, Sheldon invites Dr. Lorvis into the apartment and they soon bond over shared interests. Lorvis eventually invites the gang to see his movie memorabilia collection, which included notable items such as the Clooney Batman suit, Magneto’s Helmet, a RoboCop statue, various classic arcade cabinets, along with a myriad of other collectibles. A fun tidbit about the character was that he was actually supposed to be a combination of all the nerds and exhibited certain traits of Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, Raj, and Stuart.
2 Basketball Player Rick Fox Played One Of Bernadette’s Ex-Boyfriends
While attending a conference in Big Sur in Season 4’s “The Love Car Displacement” Bernadette and Howard run into one of Bernadette’s ex-boyfriends, played by Rick Fox. This ex, Glenn, was not only an ex-lover but was Bernadette’s former professor, to Howard’s dismay. Glenn’s good looks, charm, and height (6′ 7″) quickly intimidated Howard, causing Howard to project his insecurities onto Bernadette.
For those who don’t know, Rick Fox is a retired basketball player who played small forward for the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Although a professional athlete, Fox was also the founder of Echo Fox, the Esports organization/team.
1 Eric André Denied Sheldon And The Gang Entry Into A Theatre
Sheldon and the rest of the gang decide to camp outside a theatre to see a special screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark with an additional 21 seconds of unseen footage in Season 4’s “The 21-Second Excitation.” In the episode, Eric André plays Joey, an employee at the theatre tasked with managing the camping crowd outside.
When Wil Wheaton and his entourage show up, Joey lets them cut the line, filling the theatre to capacity, thereby not allowing the gang to see Indiana Jones and enraging Sheldon. After a colorful exchange with Joey, Sheldon decides to steal the footage.
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