Macaulay Culkin reveals he turned down leading role in 'Big Bang Theory' three times
If the executives at CBS had had their way, then their popular sitcom 'The Big Bang Theory' would have looked a lot different to how it does currently. Macaulay Culkin, the child prodigy who rose to international fame with his portrayal of Kevin McCallister in 'Home Alone,' revealed recently that he had turned down multiple offers to star in the series.
The now 37-year-old star told Joe Rogan on his Experience podcast that he had been propositioned for a role on the show on more than one occasion but that he turned it down every single time because he was not convinced by the premise of the show. He also revealed that his agent had tried to tempt him into accepting the offer but that he ultimately managed to resist the pull.
According to the Daily Mail, the actor told Rogan, "They pursued me for 'The Big Bang Theory.' And I said, 'Noooo.'" He continued, "It was kind of like, the way the pitch was, 'Alright, these two astrophysicist nerds and a pretty girl lives with them. Yoinks!' That was the pitch!"
"And I was like, 'Yeah, I'm cool. Thanks,'" he added. "And then they came back at me again, and I said, 'No, no, no. Again, flattered — but no.' Then they came back at me again, and even my manager was like twisting my arm!" even claiming he'd lost on large sums of money in the process.
"I'd have hundreds of millions of dollars right now if I did that gig," he said, but quickly added that if he had accepted the role, he would be "bashing his head against a wall." While Culkin never specifies what role he turned down, one can safely assume it was one of either Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, or Raj Koothrapali by taking into account the money the actor says he could have made.
Having made his name in the 'Home Alone' franchise, Culkin went on to star in films such as 'The Good Son,' 'The Pagemaster,' and 'Richie Rich.' His stock in the 90s was so high, that he was regarded as being the most successful child actor since Shirley Temple, even ranking at number two on VH1's list of the '100 Greatest Kid-Stars' and E!'s list of the '50 Greatest Child Stars.'
But no one imagined that he would make a sudden exit from acting in 1994, returning briefly for a role in television show 'Will and Grace,' and film 'Party Monster.' He has largely kept out of the public sphere since, returning in 2013 to co-found New York-based, pizza-themed comedy rock band 'The Pizza Underground'.
Recently, Culkin started his own podcast, titled 'Bunny Ears,' with comedian Matt Cohen. Having debuted in January this year, the podcast sees Culkin and Cohen take on a plethora of topics and hosting guests such as comics creator and actor Dan Fogler.
How would his life have looked like if he said yes to 'The Big Bang Theory'? The sitcom premiered in 2007 and will soon be returning for its 12th season and each of the main actors — Jim Parsons, John Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar to be exact — have been raking in about $1 million per episode.
