Kaley Cuoco skyrocketed to television success after her starring role in the long-running sitcom The Big Bang Theory, following a brief stint on 8 Simple Rules…for Dating My Teenage Daughter.
In a new interview with Variety, the 35-year-old actress spoke about being in a ‘state of shock,’ when the CBS show ended its 12-year run, thinking to herself, ‘I don’t remember my life before this show.’
Now a first time Golden Globe nominee for her role in The Flight Attendant, Cuoco opened up about her career leading up to this point sharing, ‘I feel there’s a lot more on the horizon, because I think my career just started.’
Just starting: Kaley Cuoco, 35, opens up about her 30-year career in television and being a first time Golden Globe nominee for The Flight Attendant, telling Variety in a new interview, ‘I think my career just started’
Beginning her career on screen when she was just seven-years-old, she shared that she laughed at being dubbed a ‘newcomer’ with regards to her nomination, having been in the industry for 30 years.
One of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood on account of The Big Bang Theory (making $1M per episode), the show came to an end following star Jim Parsons’ decision not to continue.
In accordance with creator Chuck Lorre, the whole ensemble decided not to continue filming without their whole cast, as Cuoco said, ‘That was the one thing we all agreed on — we came in together, we go out together.’
A transformative period her, she revealed she would be ‘forever grateful,’ for the monetary opportunities it provided, in addition to having gone through divorce on the show following a three-year marriage to tennis player Ryan Sweeting, joking they got married in ‘six seconds.’
The Big Bang Theory: Kaley found a starring role on the hit CBS sitcom at the age of 21, though the show made the decision not to renew for a 13th season after star Jim Parsons did not want to continue; pictured 2019
Emotional goodbye: She spoke about being in a ‘state of shock,’ when the CBS show ended its 12-year run, thinking to herself, ‘I don’t remember my life before this show,’ before finding success with a new passion project
Following the show’s end, she found a passion project in The Flight Attendant – the series she executive produced for HBO Max based on a book – gaining the rights to make a show in 2017.
Reading only one sentence of the book’s Amazon description which read, ‘something like “fun-loving, drunk flight attendant wakes up next to dead body in a strange hotel,”‘ she shared, ‘I got a chill.’
She told Warner Bros chairman Peter Roth, ‘I think this is my next show,’ and after also delving into the book text he decided to develop show with her, alongside Berlanti Productions head Sarah Schechter.
Cuoco formed her own production company Yes, Norman Productions after her beloved dog, and they all got to work shopping around for a network, eventually taking it to former head of TNT programming Sarah Aubrey who took the show to HBO Max following AT&T’s acquisition of WarnerMedia.
Producer role: Cuoco formed her production company Yes, Norman in 2017 and got to work developing the show with various television mavens including Roth (WarnerBros), Aubrey (TNT) and Schechter (Berlanti); pictured 2019
With full control over the show Cuoco was able to cast herself in a dramatic lead, after being pigeonholed as a comedic actress for years.
Schechter said, ‘I don’t know that anyone would have handed Kaley this dramatic of a part, but she built it for herself.’
‘Was I able to reinvent myself overnight, and they’ve totally forgotten about everything else?…if they’re willing to see me like that, I’m just laughing in the corner,’ Kaley shared.
Cuoco credited longtime mentor, the late John Ritter (who played her dad on 8 Simple Things) for setting the tone for what she wanted on a set – a ‘whodunit’ thriller that also stars Girls’ Zosia Mamet.
The Flight Attendant: After reading a one line description of the book in 2017, Cuoco said ‘I got a chill,’ and proceeded to develop a show out of it, casting herself as the lead after being pigeonholed as a comedic actress
COVID-19 stopdown: The show was halted in March with only 24 days left of filming but was the first WBTV scripted series to pick up again in August as Cuoco shared ‘we did not want to f*** up’; pictured September with co-star Michelle Gomez
‘The respect and the kindness and the joy he brought to that set, it was unbelievable,’ she shared, adding that she thought to herself, ‘In the future, if I was that No.1, I knew how I was going to run my set.’
24 days away from wrapping the shoot when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced a shutdown, she felt disheartened, but they were the first WBTV scripted show to start up again in August, Cuoco saying ‘we did not want to f*** up.’
The eight-part show debuted to rave review and was swiftly picked up for a second season.
When nominations were coming out for the Golden Globes, Cuoco – who shares much of her life on social media – recorded an emotional video of herself hearing her name as a nominee, which went viral.
First time nominee: Cuoco shared an emotional video of her receiving her first ever Globe nomination, telling Variety ‘I never thought I’d get a nomination for anything’
Floored: ‘I will never ever forget this moment and I can’t stop crying … so proud of my entire team,’ she captioned the video
‘I will never ever forget this moment and I can’t stop crying … so proud of my entire team,’ she captioned the video.
She told Variety, ‘I never thought I’d get a nomination for anything. That was not a goal, or a thought in my mind.’
Above all she shared in the interview, ‘I’m going to keep going up, and there’s nothing stopping me now.’
Additionally the show received a Globe nomination for Best Television Series, two SAG nominations and two Critic’s Choice Award nominations.
Frontrunner: The HBO Max show about a party girl flight attendant who wakes up next to a murdered man has snagged two Golden Globe nods, two SAG nominations and two Critic’s Choice Award nominations