John Ross Bowie is back as Barry Kripke for The Big Bang Theory spinoff, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. We got to speak with John about returning to the role, and what we’re in for with this 10-episode series.
The series features comic bookstore owner Stuart Bloom who is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon. Stuart is aided in this quest by his girlfriend Denise, geologist friend Bert, and quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass Barry Kripke. Along the way, they meet alternate-universe versions of characters we’ve come to know and love from The Big Bang Theory. As the title implies, things don’t go well.”
The series stars Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Lauren Lapkus as Denise, Brian Posehn as Bert, and, of course, John Ross Bowie as Kripke.
Check out our interview with John:
It’s been quite a few years since we’ve seen Barry Kripke. What was it like returning to the character?
JRB: It was interesting. I certainly didn’t expect to come back in this fashion, and I didn’t expect to come back traversing the multiverse. I can sort of feel the zeitgeist right now and the preponderance of reboots and spinoffs and such. But this was such a big swing that to take normal, run of the mill, everyday, obnoxious Kripke and put him in the role of a quasi action hero was quite a surprise, but a welcome one.
Once you heard the premise, were you completely on board, or did it take some convincing?
JRB: I was completely on board. I mean, look, I will go where the work is. Let me make something abundantly clear, something’s got to really, really offend me deeply for me to turn a job down. But that said, I was really excited at the idea of taking these characters in a sci-fi direction, and I was really excited to work with Kevin (Sussman), Brian (Posehn), and Lauren (Lapkus). Kevin and I have known each other for years. I know Brian and Lauren outside of Big Bang. I know Lauren through the Upright Citizens Brigade and I know Brian just through the general LA comedy scene but we had never done any scenes together on the original show. I think we’re all in the wedding scene, the Sheldon and Amy wedding scene, but we don’t really interact.
I was just very excited to put together this sort of, you know, motley gang of–it’s like two levels of outsiders, right? Because the whole conceit of Big Bang Theory was that these people were sort of outsiders in society, and then this cast is even further removed. So, you know, we’re two layers of nerddom away from the original now, and it has been, as I hoped, incredibly incredibly fun to work with those guys.
It is really nice to see secondary characters get to be the stars and series regulars, so congratulations on that.
JRB: Thank you.
Kripke doesn’t really strike me as someone who would willingly hang out with Stuart and Bert and Denise. So, how does the dynamic work, like, is Kripke as sarcastic as ever? What’s going on?
JRB: Well, I was a couple of things when I first got the call. It was pitched to me by Bill Prady and Chuck Lorrie as, Kripke is still Kripke, but he will serve the same purpose that Dr. Smith did on Lost in Space– as the sort of in-house antagonist who often creates the complications that, in the case of the Robinson family, keep them stuck in space. In the case of our cast, we’re stuck in the multiverse, so he wouldn’t necessarily willingly hang out with them, nor would they hang out with him, but circumstances have trapped them together, and I think that’s where some of the comedy comes from. But it’s also important to note that they give Kripke a little bit of evolution in this show.
I mean, I always tried to flesh him out as much as I could given the scripts, but he’s really given like a full character– I don’t know if I’m going to go as far to say arc, but a slight bend, at least. So he isn’t just, you know, a one note misogynist for 10 episodes. He’s fleshed out a little bit, and it was incredibly, incredibly fun to play.
Are we going to get some backstory on how he got to where he is?
JRB: Well, the short answer is not really, but I have my own sort of backstory and origin story for Kripke, which is all on the page. It’s only a slight extrapolation. I figure here’s a guy who, you know, the character has a speech impediment. The actor has bad posture. He’s not super tall, but he’s incredibly, incredibly bright, and doesn’t have much of a filter, so I’ve always assumed that high school was really rough for the guy, and junior high even worse. And he didn’t really find his footing until college, and even then he struggled, partially because he’s sort of an outsider and he’s really smart. Also, he’s kind of obnoxious, so there’s sort of an understandable supervillain origin story with Kripke, I feel where he has been kicked around a lot by the world, and now kind of closes himself off and lashes out. And I think that hopefully made me play him with a little more empathy. I mean, he’s still, you know, don’t get me wrong, he’s still very often the villain, but I’ve always had a certain amount of compassion for the guy because I bet it was not easy being teenage Kripke. If we did a show called “Young Kripke,” I bet it would be pretty depressing.
I hate to laugh at that, but that was my next question– if there was a “Young Barry,” what would happen?
JRB: I honestly think it’s just him getting stuffed into the lockers for seven seasons. I don’t think he had an easy time until he found theoretical physics and was just able to lean into that, and like, this is what I’m good at, this is my strength. And it’s canon that he is very good, and that his research is often neck and neck with Sheldon’s. But I root for the guy, not just because I play him, but, you know, I really do believe hurt people hurt people.
I believe that as well. So, based on the trailer and as you’ve already stated, each episode is its own world with a lot of action work and some fun costumes. What can you kind of tease about that?
JRB: Well, the show essentially refreshes every episode. We’re in a brand new universe every episode. The production design changes, the costumes change, and the whole vibe changes, they’re directed differently, and the score is different in order to properly reflect the universe we’re in. So it was incredibly exciting to play. It was like doing an anthology show where the cast never changes. It was like every week was the Twilight Zone, but instead of guest star Cliff Robertson, it’s the four of us every single week. So that was super, super fun. The action stuff was daunting, but I started to really enjoy it. I don’t have a lot of fight choreography in my past, you know, I wasn’t a theater major, I didn’t take stage combat, so we had to proceed very carefully. But I really enjoyed myself. I got hung up on a wire a couple times. There were explosions near me. It was really, really satisfying to work in that space. My favorite line in the trailer is the one they gave to Stuart, but it stands for all of us, where he’s explaining to Denise, “I’m sort of new to the action genre,” and we are. That’s the beauty of the show: four very improbable action heroes, the four least competent Doctor Who’s are showing up, and I think that’s very refreshing.
Agreed. You all were really funny in the original show, so it’s just assumed that it’s going to be just as funny and just as chaotic.
JRB: That is the hope. So, you haven’t seen the show yet?
Not yet, no.
JRB: The episodes came out terrific. I’m really excited with the way they look, with the visual flair that all of them have. It was like shooting a short film every week. It’s wildly different from a multicam sitcom schedule, but we’re also allowed to have a lot more fun. And you know, there’s action sequences and great music cues and more running in one episode than I did in 11 seasons of the mothership show. So yeah, it was a blast.
And you are also going to Comic Con next week.
JRB: We are, yeah. We’re showing the first episode, and we are doing a panel afterwards with some special surprise guests.
I will also be attending, but it’s in Hall H, so fingers crossed that I get in.
JRB: Yeah, I’ve heard Hall H is. I think I did a panel, a Big Bang panel years ago, where I hosted, late in like around season nine or 10, I feel like. But yeah, Hall H could be a little bit of a zoo, but hopefully I’ll see you there.
In addition to Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, you have a few other projects that are coming out. Like The Brink of War, which is coming out next month, I believe.
JRB: Yeah, August 14 in theaters. That’s about as different a project as you can get. It is a historical drama about the Reagan-Gorbachev nuclear summit that took place in Iceland in 1986. I can give you spoilers for that one because we did not have a nuclear war and we’re all still here, so I don’t have to worry about giving away too many endings there. But it was really interesting to work on something like that because I love political dramas like that. I love The West Wing, I love 13 Days, All the President’s Men, you know, any of that genre of like guys in suits hissing at each other in the corridors of power. I just really love that. And to get to be in one was delightful. Jeff Daniels plays Reagan, J.K. Simmons plays George Shultz… It was really exciting to work with actors that I’ve always admired. Yeah, it was a blast. That was a really, really fun shoot. We shot it in Iceland. We shot it in Reykjavik, in the house where they held the original summit. And a cast member got COVID, so I had like four days off in this fascinating city where I’d never been, and they’re fine, but I went around what’s called the Golden Circle. I looked at glaciers and volcanoes, and I had an amazing time over there. Beautiful country, beautiful country. Very nice people.
That’s what I’ve heard.
JRB: You like seafood? Great, great city for seafood.
Noted. That’s one of my bucket list places.
JRB: Oh, I really recommend it. It’s not as far as you think it is. Also, I don’t know where you are. Are you in the states?
Yeah, I’m in Ohio.
JRB: Okay. Yeah. It’s not as far as you think it is. It’s very north, but it’s closer to the east coast of the U.S. than Ireland.
Oh, interesting.
JRB: Yeah. You’re not as far as you think you are. It’s really worth it. It’s a really beautiful country. And I haven’t seen the movie yet. I am seeing it tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to it.
That’s exciting. What other things do you have lined up?
JRB: Right now I’m just publicizing the show, which has actually been really fun. We’ve been all over the place. HBO Max sent us to Mexico City for the Mexico City Comic Con, which was incredibly fun. We went to a Lucha libre match, which was just fascinating and a total blast. We went to Toronto. We went to New York. We’re going to Comic Con. Yeah, it’s just been fun meeting people, and the people who’ve seen the show seem very enthusiastic about it. That’s just very heartening. We had a lot of fun making it, and I think that joy is going to come across. Not in like a self-indulgent way, but I think the joy that went into making the show will come into the viewing of it.
I love that because you can always tell when a project is loved.
JRB: Yeah, and there’s times where you’ll watch a movie and, I’m not going to name names, but there will be times where you’ll watch a movie and it’s very sort of wacky and inside, and you’re like, “yeah, these guys clearly had a really good time making it. When is it over?” and I don’t think it’s that. I don’t think you have to be a fan of the original show to enjoy this one. It’s just a good time multiverse action comedy with a lot of really good people working on it.
