We’d love to put this plan into motion.
After starring as astrophysicist Raj in “The Big Bang Theory” for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019, Kunal Nayyar would love to get the gang back together.
But, it might be too soon to be shouting “Bazinga!” just yet.
“First of all, I would be game because I’d love to spend more time with people who are my family,” Nayyar, 44. “But look, we only ended in 2019. I’m not sure you’re legally allowed to have a reunion. What? Six years after the show ended!”
“I think that would obviously have to mature a little bit,” the “A.J. Fikry” alum continued. “Even though the show ended in 2019, it’s still on every single day, so it feels like even though the show is over, it’s still on. So I think some time will have to pass, and hopefully, if I’m not too old to wear a T-shirt or a sweater vest, yes, I would love to come back on.”
The CBS sitcom followed a group of best friends and roommates and also starred Kaley Cuoco as Penny, Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter, Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz and Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler.
When the show went off the air, fans weren’t completely out of the “Big Bang” universe, as the spinoff “Young Sheldon” started in 2017, which followed Sheldon Cooper growing up in East Texas.
“There is an entire generation of people who are watching ‘Young Sheldon’ for the first time, and then they realize there is an entire 12 years of a show after ‘Young Sheldon,’ so it’s the greatest gift,” Nayyar gushed, “and it was one of the greatest periods of our life, and we are all so lucky to have lived it.”
If the network were to get the cast back together for one more hoorah, the actor knows exactly what the close-knit friend group would be up to.
“I think we would just be sitting on the couch eating Chinese food like we always have. That’s the family, and the family always stays together,” the actor told The Post.
Looking back at his time on set, the comedian admitted that it was hard to stay in character while dealing with a room full of hilarious stars.
And one funny man, in particular, is to blame.
“You know, Simon Helberg, who played Wolowitz, is still the funniest human to have ever lived,” Nayyar stated. “Any time I’m in a scene with him, he would just do something that would set me off. I’m not sure I was pissing them off, but we show up in front of a live audience. You have to get it right. You can’t mess around. I was quite embarrassed because I would always break, and I would wait for the camera to turn to the other actor, and then I would break and come back.”
“But I was terrible so I’m apologizing to everyone,” he added. “We were very lucky to have a really loving and happy set for 12 years.”
These days, the “Criminal: UK” star is still in touch with “everyone,” explaining that their bond is one for the books.
“You can’t go through a run like that without being [close],” confessed Nayyar. “I spent more time with them than I did with my actual family. So I’m in touch with everyone. We are all still very close.”
Although, don’t expect this cast to have a text chain.
“It’s individual text,” Nayyar teased, “I have like 70 family group chats, so no more group chats!”
Over the years, the tech creator has taken on a variety of roles but has one genre in mind that he’d be open to explore next.
“I would love to do true crime detective, badass kind of work,” revealed Nayyar. “Just to explore that world, obviously, because I played one specific character on television for so long. I did a TV show on Netflix called ‘Criminal: UK.’ I got nominated for a BAFTA for that. I did a show for Apple called ‘Suspicion.’ I did a movie called ‘A.J. Fikry.’ Predominantly, mostly dramatic work, but it’s something different and nice to explore.”
Nayyar also shared who his dream co-star would be, although he couldn’t pick just one.
“If Philip Seymour Hoffman were alive, he’d be my greatest guest star of all time,” Nayyar detailed. “I love Jeffrey Wright, Tom Hanks, all the classic actors who I really, really look up to. I would love to work opposite of.”
Along with being a seasoned actor, Nayyar is proving he’s more like his on-screen character than some may think, having created the new app IQ121 (pronounced IQ One-Two-One).
“I think all of us actors will admit that we bring aspects of our personality to all the characters we play,” Nayyar said about playing Raj. “If that means a part of me is nerdy, I am happy to accept it.”
“Biggest similarities, there are quite a few, obviously,” he expanded. “Obviously, we are very different in real life. I have no issues talking to women. I’ve been married a long time now, but there are a lot of similarities. I am obsessed with ‘Star Wars,’ I am a big comic book nerd; there are many ways in which we are similar, and of course, there are many ways in which we are different.”
When it comes to putting his all into this work, as long as their is a creative outlet involved that he’s passionate about — Nayyar is all in.
“I don’t really differentiate between creating an app or acting — for me, it’s all a creative process,” he shared. “I love the idea of creating this app, and I love the idea of being on set and shooting a movie or shooting a TV series, so I don’t think there is one or another. I feel, in my heart, I am going to do it with the purest energy I can.”
Nayyar’s new app, meanwhile, was created while he was on a flight from London to Los Angeles, thinking of all the info he needed to get his parents before he booked their trip.
“IQ121 was actually born because I live between Los Angeles, London and New Delhi, and I have family scattered all over the world,” he explained. “And every time I needed to book a flight for my parents to come visit me, it’s like, ‘Can you please scan your passport? Can I get your license? I’ve got to fill this out. So, I was like, why don’t we have one place, a digital storehouse for the family, where we can create a place that is safe and encrypted for us to share sensitive documents.”
In this day and age of technology, it’s more important than ever to have a safe and easy space to access and share documents, as well as pictures and personal information.
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“That is sort of how this came together,” he added. “For me, it was more out of a necessity. I was like we need to create something so families scattered all over the world [can access it]. This is exactly why I created this and why it’s very important for our times.”
Nayyar hopes users will use IQ121 for years to come for a multitude of reasons.
“It’s not just a digital storehouse for sensitive, familial documents; it’s also a place [where] you can upload photographs and memories. I hope ultimately it becomes a digital file you can then hand down to generations in the family.”
