Simon Helberg gets 'Big Bang' out of acting

CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" made an instant star out of actor Simon Helberg, now famous for his deft characterization of nerdy Howard Wolowitz in 231 episodes (so far).

Starting this week, he co-stars with Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant in the new fact-based romantic comedy "Florence Foster Jenkins" as pianist/bodybuilder Cosme McMoon, a nervous, tentative fellow who hates conflict.

I hit Helberg, 35, with five questions during his recent publicity swing through the Windy City.

Q. At an audience Q&A at Chicago's Music Box Theatre last week, you referred to your success on "The Big Bang Theory" as "a pair of golden handcuffs." Nine years into the series, is the show more handcuffs or golden these days?

A. I would say they're more golden. They always have been. Because it's so prominently displayed in everybody's home, in airplanes, even (on their) watches at this point. You can't turn your head without seeing the show.

The association can just be so loud in people's heads, maybe the openness to you playing different roles isn't quite as present.

On the other hand, being able to play a character's arc over nine years is a beautiful, rare thing. You grow as they grow. It's a pretty spectacular place to be.

Q. Your character Cosme McMoon has a completely different physicality than Howard. How did you design your pianist's physicality?

A. There were a few little sparks of inspiration. I remembered how some students would go through a growth spurt over the summer. Not me, unfortunately. They would come back to school bigger and clumsier as they were trying to figure out their new bodies. It was like feeling alien in your own body. I used that, plus him (McMoon) probably being gay and not even being aware of that.

Q. So how does holding a black belt in karate inform the physicality of the characters you create?

A. I'm sure it does, in ways where I don't even consciously recognize it. I am fairly physically aware and agile, and I imbue that into the characters I play. We (actors) don't have much else besides our bodies and our voices.

Karate probably gave me an incredibly deep awareness of all the parts of me, my flexibility, and the nimble qualities I'm doing, even if they're unconscious.

Q. At the Music Box Theatre and on Stephen Colbert's show, you are really quick, funny and self-deprecating. Is that the direct result of improv training?

A. I think the government had a chip implanted in me. I grew up surrounded by sketch comedy. My dad was a member of The Groundlings. When I decided I wanted to be an actor in high school, I really went into improv. I took classes at The Groundlings. I studied acting. Did sketch comedy in L.A. It's probably just fueled by insecurity and the need to be quickly validated.

Q. When you decided to become an actor, did you receive support from your parents? I mean, your dad was an actor and your mom was a casting director.

A. They pulled me into the family trade! Actually, they weren't jumping up and down about it. My parents were certainly not the ones pushing me into this. They knew the ups of this, but they also knew the downs of going into this business.

I wanted to go and study in New York. They were supportive of that. Then I dropped out after two years to really pursue the career. They were less supportive of that. Ultimately, it all worked out. I can still go back to college. I think my mom is still waiting for that to happen.

<b>Columbia prof tracks 'Wolfpack' at library</b>

Crystal Moselle's excellent 2015 documentary "The Wolfpack" will be shown at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 400 N. Dunton Ave, Arlington Heights. The doc follows the Angulo brothers, who've been sealed for years inside their Lower East Side Manhattan apartment where all they know of the outside world has been gleaned from watching movies and TV. Free admission. Columbia College associate professor Jeff Spitzer will lead a post-show discussion. Go to bit.ly/2b6bRKr.

<i> Dann Gire's column runs Friday in Time out!</i>