Fans of The Big Bang Theory might remember the many scenes of Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny walking up and down the apartment stairwell—a unique set detail given the building’s “broken” elevator. Kunal Nayyar, who portrayed Raj Koothrappali, shared a behind-the-scenes secret about these iconic stairwell scenes on Sunday Brunch in 2022, explaining a process that was both simple and surprisingly labor-intensive.
According to Nayyar, the stairwell set consisted of a single staircase that never led anywhere. “You go down the stairs, then they yell, ‘Hold,’ and they just change the set to look like a new floor,” he said, explaining that each time the scene switched floors, set designers would add a new door number or even change the props to create the illusion of another level. This meant the actors would frequently “run back up the stairs that go nowhere,” then film again as if descending from a different floor. Nayyar also revealed a quirky fact: “Johnny Galecki [Leonard] for 12 years would stick his chewing gum on the wall there. I’m not joking!”
The Complicated Process of Filming in a “Broken Elevator” Building
Creating scenes on the stairwell wasn’t just about switching set pieces. Due to the show’s live studio audience and multi-camera format, it required precise timing and choreography to make each scene flow naturally. Director Mark Cendrowski shared in Jessica Radloff’s book, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, that these scenes were tricky to shoot. “You needed to time them so that whenever a character turned a corner, you could move to the next floor,” he explained. The timing was so precise that, when lines landed particularly well with the audience, he sometimes had to adjust scenes to keep the laughter from disrupting the flow.
The crew had the process down to a science. “The set dressers would quickly change the numbers on the door, add tape, or even throw a bicycle out there,” Cendrowski recalled. The whole stairwell sequence, he said, was about keeping the audience engaged without breaking the scene’s continuity.
The Broken Elevator: A Unique Device for Comedy and Character Development
The decision to keep the building’s elevator “broken” was a deliberate one by series creator Chuck Lorre. He felt it added humor and brought characters together outside their apartments, creating many of the show’s memorable conversations. Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon Cooper, enjoyed the stairway scenes, describing them as a fun acting challenge. In Radloff’s book, he explained that timing was everything. “I did enjoy the stairway scenes. They’re so physical and technical, but that’s part of comedy,” Parsons said, noting that precise entrances and exits offered moments of humor, even when actors were off-screen. However, he admitted that audience reactions sometimes threw off timing, requiring the cast to stay adaptable.
Parsons enjoyed the stairwell’s unique role in the series and appreciated how the broken elevator became a defining part of The Big Bang Theory’s humor. The show’s creators finally “fixed” the elevator in the penultimate episode, giving fans and cast alike a bittersweet moment of closure.
Penny’s Iconic Moment in the Elevator
Kaley Cuoco, who played Penny, was thrilled to be part of this moment. The broken elevator had become such a hallmark of the series that finally using it for a scene felt like a reward. Cuoco recalled her excitement when she read the script for The Change Constant, where she is the first character to use the elevator after 12 seasons. “When I found out I got to be in the elevator, that was it for me,” Cuoco remembered. “I was so excited. It killed in front of the audience!” This moment marked a fun farewell to the series’ famous set piece and showed how beloved the “broken” elevator had become among fans and cast alike.
