The Star Wars actor who rejected the Big Bang Theory

“The Big Bang Theory” is one giant ode to geekiness, so it makes sense that the show over the years has featured guest stars from the biggest geeky franchises in film and TV. Even “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Wil Wheaton ended up playing it An evil version of himself For a number of episodes, plenty of other actors also joined in on the fun. No, seriously, there Tons From the actors of “Star Trek”. Who guest-starred on “The Big Bang Theory.” But in Season 7, it’s time for the stars of another big sci-fi series to shine when superfan Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) attempts to create his own Comic-Con.

In “The Pact Mystery”, Sheldon manages to find the voice of Darth Vader himself: the late, great James Earl Jones, playing him while having dinner at a local sushi restaurant. Unlike Sheldon’s interactions with many other celebrities, Jones is genuinely excited to spend time with him, and they end up going on an adventure together. They sing karaoke, go to a carnival, and end up pranking the woman who played Princess Leia — the late, great Carrie Fisher, who also plays her — by ringing her doorbell and running away. It’s all a lot of fun, but it turns out that the people behind the show really wanted to try to land another “Star Wars” actor, too. Unfortunately, he wasn’t interested.

In the oral history bookThe Big Bang Theory: The definitive inside story of the epic hit series“By Jessica Radloff (trans TVLine), casting director Nikki Falco revealed that although they were able to get the voice of Darth Vader and the actor who played his daughter Leia, they couldn’t convince the guy who played the scruffy Han Solo to sign on. In news that should really come as a surprise to no one, Falco said Ford was a tough pass:

“We liked Harrison Ford, but it didn’t get any attention. He wasn’t open to it.”

Ford isn’t the type to suffer fools lightly and doesn’t do much that he doesn’t want to do, so it’s no surprise that he wouldn’t be interested in something like “The Big Bang Theory.” While he accepts his connection to “Star Wars” and its intense fan base, He’s also a little tired of some of the fan questions He seems to be chasing roles that take him far from the galaxy, far away whenever possible. While it’s unfortunate that Ford didn’t want to appear, the two actors who decided to appear had a lot of fun.

The “Convention Puzzle” provided an opportunity for Fisher and Jones meet in person for the first timeWhich is surprising they didn’t do despite starring together in one of the most famous films of all time. (Jones recorded his lines elsewhere, and acted as Fisher alongside the actor who embodied Vader, David Prowse.) One can imagine their meeting, perhaps with a little “Carrie…I’m your father” humor, and the two sci-fi titans hitting the road with their cameo out of the park . Fisher, who sadly died suddenly just two years after the incident, is perfect as a more aggressive version of herself, fed up with Jones’ antics.

The delightful fictional father-daughter duo weren’t the only “Star Wars” actors to appear in the hit series. Mark Hamill, who played Leia’s twin brother Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” films, also appeared in the Season 11 episode “The Bow Tie Symmetry.” Hamill’s only regret was that he didn’t know the series He was very good when he played the show, but later he watched the whole thing while walking on a treadmill and fell in love with the show’s geeky humor.

It’s unfortunate that Ford didn’t consider appearing in The Big Bang Theory worth his time, but it’s great that some other Star Wars actors made the effort and had fun in the process.