John Ross Bowie Says It Was ‘Harder’ to Stop Using His “Big Bang Theory” Character’s Voice After Filming New Spinoff (Exclusive)

The actor opens up about bringing back his character’s unmistakable voice to ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’

NEED TO KNOW

• John Ross Bowie reprises his role as Barry Kripke in the Big Bang Theory spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe
• Bowie says the spinoff allows Kripke to grow more in 10 episodes than in the original series’ 11 seasons
• The show explores Kripke’s softer side through his friendship with Bert while keeping his trademark unpredictability

For John Ross Bowie, returning as Barry Kripke meant bringing back one of the most recognizable voices in The Big Bang Theory universe. While reviving Kripke’s signature speech pattern came easily, saying goodbye to it proved to be the real challenge.

“I’ve stayed in practice, so it snapped back pretty quickly,” Bowie, 55, tells PEOPLE. “The challenge this time was getting rid of it because normally I would do an episode and then I’d be gone for six months. Then I’d come back and do another episode. But to be there every day for whatever it was, 13, 14 weeks, it was harder to get rid of the speech impediment than it was to bring it back.”

Bowie reprises his role as Kripke in the newest Big Bang Theory spinoff, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, in which the fan-favorite character gets a much bigger spotlight.

First introduced during season 2 of The Big Bang Theory, Kripke quickly became one of the show’s most memorable recurring characters thanks to his sharp humor, competitive nature and unmistakable inability to pronounce his “R” sounds.

A fellow Caltech scientist, Kripke often found himself going head-to-head with Jim Parsons’ Sheldon Cooper, whether through academic competitions, playful rivalries or his habit of pushing everyone’s buttons.

Finding Kripke’s voice again after years away came naturally for the actor, thanks in part to the character’s continued popularity. “It wasn’t really that hard because for one thing, I do Cameos,” he says. “I do the little video messages, and more often than not people want to hear the voice.” 

He adds, mimicking his character’s speech impediment, “It’s fun to hear this guy say, ‘Happy anniversary!’”

While Kripke has always been a source of chaos, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe gives Bowie the opportunity to explore what happens when the character is pushed outside his usual comfort zone.

“He gets some moments of redemption as this series progresses. I think he grows more in these 10 episodes than he did in the previous 11 seasons,” Bowie says.

He continues, “There are moments where he recognizes his foibles and his shortcomings, and there’s some lovely moments that Bert brings out of him.”

That growth comes through his unexpected friendship with Brian Posehn’s Bert, the lovable geologist who was introduced on The Big Bang Theory and joins Kripke on the new adventure. Their unlikely pairing gives Kripke a chance to show a softer, more patient side that viewers rarely saw before.

“Bert is the lovable bunny rabbit of the show. He brings out a patience in Kripke that we have not gotten a chance to see before,” Bowie says.

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Posehn, 60, agrees that Kripke’s journey takes him somewhere surprising, describing the character’s evolution in a way that fits perfectly with the show’s nerdy sense of humor. In fact, he describes the character’s evolution in a way that would feel right at home in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

“He goes from chaotic evil to chaotic neutral to also almost chaotic good at the end there,” Posehn says.

“There is a sense of him trying to help out his colleagues more and more as the series progresses,” Bowie says.

For Bowie, part of the fun of returning to the role was understanding Kripke as a classic agent of chaos. When the series was first pitched to him, he immediately connected the character to another famously disruptive figure.

“The idea was he was Dr. Smith on Lost in Space, who was always there but was always kind of screwing things up for everybody else and was completely self-serving. I loved that idea,” Bowie says.

“That was a big [question], ‘What would Dr. Smith do in this situation?’ It motored me through the 10 episodes,” Bowie says

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe drops new episodes Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max.