The Cast Of The Big Bang Theory Before They Were Stars!

Big Bang Character: Howard Wolowitz, who lives with his mother, has a bowl haircut and sideburns and wears black turtlenecks and tight pants. (It’s all about the ’60s, baby.) Fancying himself something of a ladies’ man, Wolowitz is known for unforgettable lines like “Bonne douche!” (That’s right—ladies love French.)

Before the Bang: In the ’90s, Galecki shone on Roseanne as David, Darlene Conner’s smart, sensitive, Renaissance-boy boyfriend. But he’s lesser known for appearing in music videos. Take a look at him in the Dave Matthews Band’s “Satellite” in 1995.

Big Bang Character: Leonard Hofstadter, an experimental physicist with Clark Kent glasses, an impressive comic book collection, and a love for playing Klingon Boggle. A poster boy for geek chic, he lives with his best friend Sheldon in an apartment across the hall from his on-again-off-again girlfriend Penny. Snakkle Snippet: Galecki’s first acting role was opposite future Roseanne costar John Goodman in the CBS miniseries Murder Ordained. Coincidence? There were plenty of times when Goodman’s Dan Conner probably wanted to murder his young daughter’s boyfriend.

Before the Bang: Here he is learning a dark family secret in a DiGiorno commercial that aired in 2003 (still no sense of irony, bless his heart). Snakkle Snippet: Much like his Big Bang Theory character, Parsons loves school. “It was so safe! I kept going as long as they’d have me,” he told Newsweek. “If they offered a doctorate in acting, I’d still be there.”

Big Bang Character: Sheldon Cooper, a Vulcan-esque theoretical physicist who understands complex equations and the genius behind “Soft Kitty” but is baffled by sarcasm, breaking routine, and driving. The offbeat role won Parsons his first-ever Emmy nomination in 2009 and two wins since then; once again he is nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category.

Before the Bang: As Bridget Erin Hennessy, the eldest daughter on the John Ritter sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Cuoco got plenty of exposure—both from the media and in her midriff-baring outfits on the show. She was lesser known as young Angela in My So-Called Life and young Ellen in Ellen. Snakkle Snippet: While Penny’s singing never gets her very far (as evidenced by the lengths Leonard and Sheldon went to avoid hearing her shrieking rendition of “Out Tonight” in a production of Rent), Cuoco recently sang “Somewhere over the Rainbow” with boyfriend Christopher French to benefit the Humane Society. (Bonus: Look at all those puppies! Don’t you just want to take one home now?) Snakkle Snippet: While Penny’s singing never gets her very far (as evidenced by the lengths Leonard and Sheldon went to avoid hearing her shrieking rendition of “Out Tonight” in a production of Rent),Cuoco recently sang “Somewhere over the Rainbow” with boyfriend Christopher French to benefit the Humane Society. (Bonus: Look at all those puppies! Don’t you just want to take one home now?)

Big Bang Character: Penny (no last name has been revealed), Leonard's pretty blonde ex, a wannabe actress who works at the Cheesecake Factory.

Before the Bang: Did you miss this little gem? Take a look at his cameo in Los Angeles-based comedy-folk duo Garfunkel & Oates’ “Present Face”—that’s him with the awesome snowflake sweater. Snakkle Snippet: Nayyar has admitted that he often gets the giggles on-set because of some of the more deadpan lines he has to deliver. And now we like him even more.

Big Bang Character: Raj Koothrappali, an astrophysicist with a severe phobia that renders him incapable of talking to women he finds even remotely attractive. Luckily there is a cure for this phobia—being completely hammered.

If nerds rule, the brainy man-boys from Caltech on The Big Bang Theory are King Arthur’s Round Table. Sweet and valiant, if awkward, they’re obsessed with finding a greater purpose through small things like particles and molecular structures—a bit like the theory the show is named after. And who among us hasn’t had an embarrassing moment where we revealed too much about our comic book collection/favorite quark theorist? Not you, you say? Oh. Well. Anyway.
“The big bang is the idea that everything starts together in one infinitely small, dense, starting point and then explodes and cools and differentiates,” Cornell planetary scientist and former Caltech grad student Don Banfield says. “These guys are very much like the students at Caltech—their interest in the science is so great that they are compelled to work on it nearly all the time.” Sometimes at the expense of seeing the world around them.
Think they’re adorable now? Take a look at them before the Bang...

Before the Bang: Bialik was white-hot in the '90s, playing the title role on the teen sitcom Blossom. She is lesser known for beat-boxing in a 1989 McDonald’s commercial and being just one of many celebrity cameos in the cheesy “Liberian Girl” video from Michael Jackson. Who knew a delicate flower could make so much music? Snakkle Snippet: Unlike her costars, Bialik isn’t just pretending with all the science talk on The Big Bang Theory: She’s got a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. (What are you doing with your life?)

Big Bang Character: Amy Farrah Fowler, Sheldon’s female equivalent, a neurobiologist who doesn’t enjoy physical contact and whose dryness allows sarcasm to blow right past her. But the girl can have fun—video-chatting with Sheldon, taking part in girls’ nights with Penny and Howard’s wife Bernadette, and spreading experimental gossip among the group.

Before the Bang: Rauch was a commentator on VH1’s Best Week Ever, where she made fun of everyone from Britney and Justin to Whitney and Bobby to Viacom’s own interns. Snakkle Snippet: Rauch’s one-woman comedy The Miss Education of Jenna Bush was the hit of 2005’s New York International Fringe Festival. It was the kind of thing we seriously considered flying across the country to catch but assumed would end up going viral on YouTube. Sadly, it didn’t, but we’re still hoping. Play it again, Melissa!

Big Bang Character: Bernadette Rostenkowski, Penny’s colleague at the Cheesecake Factory, who falls for Howard's unusual charm and manages to wedge herself between him and the only other woman in his life: his mother.