14 Noteworthy Celebrity Appearances in The Big Bang Theory

As a beloved series, The Big Bang Theory has had plenty of celebrity guests grace the screens. From Star Wars, to scientists and tech moguls, the show always served up a good time with every cameo.

Bright Side lists some of the biggest celebrities in and out of science that made watching the show all the more enjoyable and exciting.

1. Stan Lee

It’s no secret that Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard are big fans of comic books. So when comic-book legend Stan Lee appeared on the show to sign autographs, everyone was beyond excited.

However, Sheldon could not meet Stan Lee at Stuart’s shop due to a scheduled appearance in court. Penny helps Sheldon meet Stan Lee by taking him to his house, but the legend was not too happy about it as Sheldon enters his house uninvited. The ending sees Sheldon getting served with a restraining order from Stan Lee.

2. Regina King

Actress Regina King has appeared quite a few times on the show as Caltech’s director of human resources, Mrs. Davis. She showed up every time they were in trouble and were called to the HR office.

3. Buzz Aldrin

Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin played himself in the Holographic Excitation episode. He is seen giving out candy to kids who are trick-or-treating during Halloween and bragging about how he is an astronaut — just like how Howard does with his friends.

4. Howie Mandell

When Howard returned home from space, he mistook Canadian comedian Howie Mandel’s fans for himself in the airport. The crowd was chanting “Howie, Howie!” signaling the arrival of the comedian, Howard then realized that all those people weren’t referring to him.

5. Stephen Hawking

A sitcom with physics nerds at the center wouldn’t be worth its salt without theoretical physicist and the greatest scientist of his time, Stephen Hawking. He was featured in the series several times, but his most substantial cameo would be in the Hawking Excitation episode, where he went to Caltech in Pasadena for a lecture. Sheldon, who claims that Hawking may be his “only intellectual equal,” did everything in his power to meet him.

6. Carrie Fisher and James Earl Jones

In this episode, the Big Bang Theory guys sadly failed to obtain tickets to Comic-Con. A frustrated Sheldon comes up with the idea to have his own Comic-Con instead, and planned to invite celebrities. He ends up on a crazy night out with Star Wars icon James Earl Jones, who played himself, as they pranked another Star Wars legend, Carrie Fisher.

7. Mark Hamill

In one of the most significant moments in Sheldon’s life, who would be better to be there to make everything official other than the Jedi, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. The Star Wars legend stood as the officiant of Sheldon and Amy’s wedding as a favor to Howard after returning Mark’s lost dog.

8. Bill Gates

It’s not only Sheldon who has shenanigans with famous people in the series, Leonard has his own too! In the episode The Gates Excitation, Penny hosts a party for Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as he was looking to partner with a pharmaceutical company. Leonard stalked Bill Gates behind Penny’s back and ended up blowing his nose on the tech mogul’s tie.

9. Kathy Bates

Multi-award-winning actress Kathy Bates played Amy Farrah Fowler’s strict and conservative mother, Mrs. Fowler.

10. Neil Gaiman

Another significant comic book-related cameo is English fantasy author Neil Gaiman. In the show, he is seen visiting Stuart’s comic book store and trying to make conversation with the gang, but they were too busy to notice. 2 days later, he commended Stuart’s shop on Twitter, which catapulted the comic book store to fame.

11. Joe Manganiello and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The Magic Mike star appeared as himself in the episode The D&D Vortex where he plays Dungeons and Dragons with basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Smith, William Shatner, and Wil Wheaton.

12. Sarah Michelle Gellar

In the series finale, where they are off to accompany Amy and Sheldon to receive the Nobel Prize in Sweden, Raj has a very special plus one — Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar. The Big Bang Theory’s showrunner, Steven Holland, revealed that he’s been a fan of Buffy and thought of inviting her to do a cameo. He called her and discovered that Sarah’s family is a big fan of the show, which made the cameo easier to work out.

13. Octavia Spencer

In the episode The Euclid Alternative, award-winning actress Octavia Spencer played a disinterested DMV worker when Sheldon applied for a learner’s permit.

14. Elon Musk

In the episode The Platonic Permutation, Howard meets one of his biggest tech heroes, SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. They met at a homeless shelter where they were serving dinner for Thanksgiving.

Which of these celebrity cameos is your favorite? Who else do you think could’ve been a great guest on the show? Let’s discuss this in the comments!