Simon Helberg and Mark Hamill had a special connection to the Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory fans know for sure that the penultimate episode of The Big Bang Theory Mark Hamill as himself in “The Bow Tie Asymmetry” — where Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) get married. That they probably are no need I know, though, that’s Hamill – the first scene from which in the episode actually Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) – has known Helberga for many years.

Early in the episode, Hamill tracks down his dog, appropriately named Bark Hamill, who Howard found, at which point the human Hamill offers Howard a favor, leading to Luke Skywalker himself performing at Sheldon and Amy’s wedding. But what’s really surprising here is that Helberg’s relationship with Hamill isn’t what got him on the show.

“Simon Helberg and my son Nathan were close friends because we went to school together from seventh to 12th grade,” Hamill told Jessica Radloff in his book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series. “, which came out in 2022. “We’ve always been rooting for him, so when that show happened, we didn’t call it The Big Bang Theory, we called it the Simon show, ‘Oh, the Simon show is on!’ And we watched it from the beginning, hoping that it would be successful.”

“I tried to change the name to ‘The Simon Show,’ but nobody would listen,” Helberg joked in the book. “But yeah, Nathan, who is Mark’s oldest son, was my best friend for most of junior high and high school.” After admiring how often he and Nathan Hamill would make prank phone calls when they were younger, Helberg continued, “So there’s been attempts to get him into The Big Bang a lot of times anyway, and I think a few of them I could” I helped; obviously I didn’t do a good job because it didn’t make it to the end of season 11, but it was really cool to do it with my friend! dad Not to mention he’s one of the most iconic actors ever, but there was something very cathartic about it, and the whole family was there that night. Helberg knows a thing or two about iconic actors, as The Big Bang Theory even tried to know. cast the iconic musician as his character’s father.