Star Wars actor who rejected the Big Bang theory

The Big Bang Theory is a giant ode to nerdiness, so it makes sense that the show has featured guest stars from the biggest geek franchises in film and television over the years. Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wil Wheaton even ended up playing a villainous version of himself for a number of episodes, and many other actors also joined in on the fun. no seriously there is a tons the cast 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 franchise to shine when superfan Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) tries to create his own Comic-Con.

In “The Convention Conundrum,” Sheldon manages to find the voice of Darth Vader himself: the late, great James Earl Jones playing himself while dining at a local sushi restaurant. Unlike Sheldon’s interactions with many other celebrities, Jones is more than happy to spend time with him, and they end up going on adventures together. They sing karaoke, go to a carnival, and even end up pranking the woman who played Princess Leia — the late, great Carrie Fisher, who also plays herself — by ringing her doorbell and running away. It’s all good fun, but it turns out that the people behind the series really wanted to try and get another Star Wars actor involved. Unfortunately, he wasn’t interested.

In the oral history book “The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Story of the Epic Hit” Jessica Radloff (trans TVLine), casting director Nicky Valko revealed that while they were able to get the voice of Darth Vader and the actor to play his daughter Leia, they just couldn’t convince the man who played the scruffy nerd Han Solo to sign on. In news that really shouldn’t surprise anyone, Valko said Ford was a tough pass:

“We would have loved Garrison Ford, but it never really struck a chord. He just wasn’t open to it.”

Ford isn’t one to suffer fools easily, and he doesn’t do much he doesn’t want to do, so it’s no wonder he wouldn’t be interested in something like The Big Bang Theory. Although he acknowledged his connections to Star Wars and his intense fandom, he was also a bit fed up with some of the fan questions and seems to chase roles that take him far from a galaxy far, far away whenever possible. While it’s a bummer that Ford didn’t want to appear, the two actors who did decide to appear had a lot of fun.

The Riddle of the Convention gave a chance for Fisher and Jones will meet in person for the first timewhich they surprisingly didn’t, despite starring in one of the most famous movies of all time together. (Jones recorded his lines elsewhere, and Fisher performed alongside Vader body actor David Prowse.) One can only imagine their meeting, perhaps with a bit of “Carrie…I’m your father” humor, and the two sci-fi titans knocking their cameos from the park. Fisher, who unfortunately died suddenly just two years after this episode, is perfect as a slightly more aggressive version of herself, fed up with Jones’ antics.

The adorable fictional father-daughter duo weren’t the only Star Wars actors to appear on 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 not knowing the series too good when he made a cameo, but later he watched it all while walking the treadmill and fell in love with the geeky humor of the show.

It’s a shame that Ford didn’t think the Big Bang Theory cameo was worth his time, but it’s great that some of the other Star Wars actors put in the effort and enjoyed it in the process.