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The actor tells PEOPLE how his once-supporting character steps up to navigate a multiverse apocalypse in ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’
NEED TO KNOW
- Kevin Sussman’s Stuart takes on a “leadership role” for the first time in the new spinoff of The Big Bang Theory
- Stuart Fails to Save the Universe features a few returning Big Bang characters and explores a multiverse disaster with a comedic twist
- Co-creator Chuck Lorre tells PEOPLE that Stuart’s unlikely hero status made him the perfect choice to lead the new show
The Big Bang Theory’s 12-season run often found Stuart Bloom on the sidelines.
But in HBO Max’s upcoming spinoff, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, he’s stepping into unfamiliar territory and becoming the hero. Kevin Sussman, who plays the titular comic book store owner, tells PEOPLE he thinks fans will be excited to see a different side of the fan-favorite character.
When asked what audiences may have misunderstood about Stuart over the years, Sussman, 55, says that the new series gives him something viewers rarely saw on The Big Bang Theory: A chance to take charge. “I guess not so much misunderstood, but [it’s] just an opportunity to see Stuart sort of taking a leadership role in any kind of situation because normally he’s just happy to be invited to something,” Sussman says.
He adds, “So now to see him trying to lead a group of people through something, let alone a multiverse apocalypse, I think is gonna be exciting for people.”
After accidentally setting off a multiverse disaster, Stuart suddenly finds himself at the center of a mission to save reality as we know it in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. Joining him are several familiar faces from the franchise, with a number of former Big Bang side characters stepping into larger roles as the adventure unfolds.
For co-creator Chuck Lorre, Stuart’s status as an unlikely hero is precisely what made him the right person to anchor the show.
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“He was the absolute worst choice to be the hero of this story, which made him the perfect choice,” Lorre, 73, tells PEOPLE. “And Kevin Sussman, as I’m sure you know, is just a brilliant comic actor, someone you can look for despite his inadequacies, you can look for him.”
In fact, Lorre says there was never any debate over which Big Bang Theory character should anchor the spinoff. “It was always Kevin,” he says. “Right from the very beginning.”
While the series expands the Big Bang universe in ambitious new ways, Stuart remains at the heart of the story. This time, however, the character who once struggled to find his place is suddenly responsible for helping save existence itself. The show also reunites him with Denise (Lauren Lapkus) amid the bizarre chaos. Actors Brian Posehn (Burt) and John Ross Bowie (Barry) also star in the sci-fi comedy.
“She’s also on this journey where everything is insane, but she still somehow manages to be the grounding force for Stuart and the other guys, which I think is really important,” Lapkus, 40, says of her character. “Just story-wise, you need somebody to kind of be a voice of reason.”
The shift won’t just be surprising for Stuart. According to Lapkus, longtime fans expecting a traditional Big Bang Theory follow-up may also be surprised. “I think they’ll be really surprised at how different it is from the Big Bang Theory,” Lapkus says. “It’s a completely different vibe and type of show, but I do think that the humor that they appreciated in the first series will translate here and they’ll be able to enjoy it.”
That larger scope also changed the filming experience for the cast. Rather than working primarily on dialogue-driven scenes, Sussman spent much of the production shooting effect-heavy sequences. “Most of the time that the camera was rolling, we were doing those more technically oriented shots,” he says. “Literally stuff that we spent like an entire day shooting and when it’s actually cut together, it’s like 30 seconds.”
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe premieres July 23 on HBO Max.
Read the original article on People
