Sitting through a question-and-answer panel with two of the actors from The Big Bang Theory was more laughs than an episode of the geektastic TV show.
Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar fielded a range of fan queries during Saturday’s 45-minute session at the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo — from “What’s your favourite superhero?” to “How old are you?” to “Did you become more of a nerd playing a nerd?”
Helberg and Nayyar play two of the top-rated show’s socially dysfunctional scientists — Howard Wolowitz and Dr. Raj Koothrappali, respectively. In person, they were anything but awkward as they kept about 4,000 fans in stitches at the Expo Centre.
They cracked jokes about their castmates, including Jim Parsons, who plays the annoyingly brilliant physicist Sheldon Cooper. “Ever since Jim won his fourth Emmy, he parks his car sideways and takes up all the spots,” said Nayyar. “Yeah, he wants to win enough so that he can hang one around each of our necks,” added Helberg.
They joked with fans who asked convoluted questions. (“You want pictures of my wife? You TOOK pictures of my wife?” asked Nayyar, who happens to be married to a former Miss India. “Security!”)
They established a running gag about unaccompanied children — thanks to the swarm of them who lined up to ask questions. “Where are your parents?” Nayyar asked one young fan, who then revealed his parents were divorced. TMI? Maybe, but the pair of actors managed to take the potentially painful moment and make everyone laugh.
Even the kids got in on the act as the session went on. “If you’re wondering where my mom is, she left me, she’s at the casino,” said one young boy. His question? “What’s the most embarrassing episode you’ve been in?” Nayyar was just about to answer when, as if on cue, he was interrupted by a baby’s screams. “It’s all happening in this panel, isn’t it?” he asked.
“There’s another kid being tortured,” quipped Helberg. “I don’t know what the laws are out here.”
Among all their jokes, the pair of actors also dropped a few tidbits about the show and their colleagues:
* There’s a spare version of Sheldon’s cushion because the show’s creators are worried the real one — used during the live taping of the shows — will get dented. Nayyar called it the “rehearsal cushion.”
* Viewers might finally get a glimpse of Howard’s mysterious dad. “I have heard that we might meet him soon, either this season or next season,” said Helberg. “We find out a lot of information the night before (rehearsals).”
Who would he like to play his pops? “There was a period where I was saying that I wanted Ringo Starr to play my dad but it was just because I wanted to be Ringo Starr.”
* Creator Chuck Lorre wrote the theme to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. “I was obsessed (with them),” confessed Nayyar. “I always liked Raphael because he was the bad boy.”
* Nayyar has a habit of breaking character because he finds his lines so funny. “I’ll say my joke and start laughing,” he said. “He’s his biggest fan,” replied Helberg.
One of the biggest cheers of the 45-minute panel came when a fan thanked the Big Bang stars for helping to raise the profile and status of geeks around the world.
“I can name more people who have played Batman than I can name NHL hockey players and in Canada, that means you’re (at the) back of the bus,” said the gentleman. “But nowadays, nobody says, ‘You’re a nerd, eh?’ They say, ‘You’re like the guy from the Big Bang Theory. Then they meet my wife and say, ‘You’re Howard!’ ”
He then asked a somewhat rambling question about Howard and Raj’s bromance on the show. “Uh, what’s the question?” said Nayyar.
“I think he just wanted to tell everyone that he’s married, right?” said Helberg, to cackling laughs and applause.
“I put a ring on it,” replied the fan, without missing a beat.
Bazinga!
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου