Big Bang Theory star Melissa Rauch kept one of Bernadette’s props

It is not uncommon for actors to keep props when they finish a projectand back Melissa Rauch, who played Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on “The Big Bang Theory,” She kept one important part of her character: her eyeglasses.

In an interview with Showbiz cheat sheet In the fall of 2021, Rauch revealed that she almost returned the glasses she wore to play Bernadette until one of the show’s executive producers stopped her. “I was so excited,” he recalled. “I was about to give them back and Steve Molaro, the executive producer, said, ‘I think you should have those.’ I’m so glad he did.”

“I remember when I took the glasses off for Simon,” Rauch continued, referring to her on-screen husband Howard Wolowitz (played by Simon Helberg) before emphasizing how emotional the moment was when she received her glasses. “I was so happy that they let me take them home with me so I could have them in a special box. I realized as we shot the last scene, I was like, ‘Oh, this is the last time I’m going to be using this voice. It’s definitely like saying goodbye to a friend. I’ll always remember that moment of saying goodbye to a character in general … “

Also, a fun fact: They are not real glasses. “They don’t actually have lenses in them so it’s not like I can use them,” Rauch told the outlet. “They are completely lensless frames. That was literally a trick of the eyes on Big Bang that they didn’t have lenses.”

In Book 2022 Jessica Radloff The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit SeriesMelissa Rauch revealed that she saved a lot of things related to “The Big Bang Theory” … and in the process, she too She told fans that she was the one who came up with the idea that Bernadette should wear glasses in the first place, in a sense. “I saved the dress I wore to the audition, which was very close to what ended up being Bernadette’s look, and a green cardigan,” Rauch began before addressing the glasses.

“I was wearing glasses, although he didn’t say that Bernadette wore glasses,” he continued. “There were so many girls auditioning, so I thought, I need to do something a little different. I had some crappy $10 prop glasses in the global compartment of my car for auditions, so I decided to throw ’em in my bag just in case. And when I got there, there were so many women auditioning that I thought, I don’t have a shot in hell. But I wore the glasses as a last minute decision, and it wasn’t until I got the role and was about to do the table read a few weeks later when Nikki Valko and Ken Miller (casting directors) and Ken Miller sent a note to my Agent saying, ‘The glasses were really great at the audition; She should wear them at table reading. ‘”

We knew from her showbiz cheat sheet interview that Rauch kept the glasses, but speaking to Radloff, she explained another emotional reason she took them home as a souvenir … and discussed something another She has saved related to the series. “I keep (the glasses) in a special drawer for my children to have as a special keepsake years from now, just like how I also saved my parents’ voicemail message from the first time they saw my name in the opening credits when I became a series regular.”

So, now we all know that Melissa Rauch inspired the creative team behind “The Big Bang Theory” to declare that Bernadette would wear glasses – but she almost missed out on the chance completely. As Rauch recalled to Jessica Radloff in the series-spanning book, when she auditioned for “The Big Bang Theory,” she wasn’t going out for many roles … and her agent called exactly the right moment.

“I auditioned on September 15, 2009, but before that audition, I hadn’t had one in so long that I called my agent and said, ‘I’m sorry, but is there anything out there that you Think I’d be right for it?'” Rauch told Radloff. “I needed to work and I hated having to make that call, but I decided to do it. My agent said, ‘It’s really slow,’ and then two days later I got an audition for ‘Big Bang.’ Needless to say, I was delighted that I had the courage to make that phone call.”

Nikki Valko and Ken Miller, who helped cast the show, were interviewed many times for Radloff’s book – and basically said as soon as Rauch heard it, it was perfect. “Melissa Rauch is comedy gold, and we don’t say that lightly,” gushed Valko. “We see a lot of actors. He walked into that room and he was like, WOW. We had never met her before. She knew where every beat was, every second. It was a flawless audition, and that’s the gold. And the role was only for one, maybe two episodes. It certainly wasn’t what it turned out to be. “Probably, the faux Glasses didn’t hurt either.

“The Big Bang Theory” is streaming on Max now.