Kaley Cuoco did not ask questions when Larry David came calling – and that leap of faith landed her in the middle of the Great Depression.
The Big Band Theory star says she signed on to HBO’s Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness before anyone even explained what the show was about.
“It was such a secretive thing. I just said yes before the producers could tell me what it was,” Cuoco recalled. “I was like, ‘Anything for Larry.’ I had no idea what the premise was.”
Only after arriving on set did reality hit.
“They’re like, ‘Okay, you’re going to be in the Great Depression.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?… Oh yeah, and the Obamas are producing.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I knew nothing. I knew absolutely nothing.”
In the comedy sketch, Cuoco plays Gloria, who calls out David’s latest “chat and cut” attempts in a Depression-era soup line.
The scene became one of her favourite memories because David could not keep a straight face.
“He was like, ‘Call me something. Just call me an imbecile…'” she said. “So, I called him an imbecile, and he literally just spit out… He was laughing so hard. It’s so fun when he finds you funny. You literally think you won a medal.”
Cuoco agrees with one thing, though: “The chat and cut is f—ed up. You can’t do that… I don’t care if we’re in the Great Depression or in a line today for Taco Bell.”
After the premiere, David surprised her with a personal phone call praising her performance. Even better, he ended it with a promise that left Cuoco beaming: “Any show I’m on, you’re going to be in too.”
