By Natalie Abrams on Oct 31, 2014 at 4:37PM
Photo: cbs.com
The Big Bang Theory moved back to Thursday night with nothing short of a miracle: The show was able to keep a surprise cameo under wraps ahead of airing, an act that’s nearly unheard of in an age where spoilers freely leak long before episodes debut.
The CBS comedy welcomed Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton, who played Dr. Oliver Lorvis, a urologist who misunderstands Penny’s (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) flirtation while working and attempts to woo her. How did the cameo come to be?
“A few months ago, we had seen an interview with Billy Bob talking about shows he likes. He was saying how much he likes Big Bang Theory, and watches it all the time, and gets so into it [that] he starts talking to the characters on the screen,” showrunner Steve Molaro tells EW. “We thought that was so cool, and we think he’s so great.”
The producers began with the idea of Penny taking off her engagement ring while working as a pharmaceutical rep to boost her sales. “When we started thinking about Billy Bob, the thought was that he could be the doctor who doesn’t quite understand the signals—that this would be a socially awkward doctor who falls for Penny’s sales flirtations. We went back to Billy and his people with that thought, and they thought it was really fun and cool, so we went from there,” explains Molaro.