Big Bang's Simon Helberg Reveals Why Howard Has "The Right Stuff"

You can have your McDreamy and McSteamy, but there's no bigger Casanova on TV these days than The Big Bang Theory's (premieres Monday at 8 pm/ET on CBS) ultra-suave Howard Wolowitz. Sure, he didn't get the girl last season, but there's no reason to think the multi-lingual mama's boy can't get lucky in Season 2. We caught up with Simon Helberg - who has just landed a coveted gig on the Coen brothers' new flick - to get the lowdown on Wolowitz's lady-killing skills and why a certain ageless boy band should make a very special appearance on the CBS hit. - Joyce Eng
TVGuide.com: Can you give us the scoop on Season 2?
Simon Helberg: I don't know, can I? [ Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Well, last we saw, Leonard and Penny went on their date, and in the opener, we see it didn't go too well.
Helberg: Yeah, it wasn't too great. [ Laughs] You'll get to see what happens after that. We just finished the fourth episode. It's a lot of Leonard and Penny toying with each other back and forth, you know, bickering, trying to make each other jealous. And Leslie [Sara Gilbert]'s back and that just complicate things. Leonard's got his hands full it may be a while before they make up.
TVGuide.com: Sara's a regular now. What kind of dynamic does she add to the cast?
Helberg: She is. She's back in the second episode. She's great. The dynamic's not really that different because she's just one of the guys. Leslie's a physicist, a nerd, so she just fits in, except with Sheldon, of course. He's not too thrilled with her, obviously. She's back to make a move on Leonard, you know, she's decided it's time for a relationship and she's very methodical about it. Dating is a science for her, there's a lot of planning. She's got her thesis worked out, so she gets kind of aggressive with him.
TVGuide.com: Who does Leonard go better with: Leslie or Penny?
Helberg: I'm going to go with Penny. There's something there. It's the whole "opposites attract" thing.
TVGuide.com: But if they get together, then Howard can't get Penny.
Helberg: I know. I may need to re-think this, but Leslie would be free, so he can go for her. I don't think he would mind. Howard goes for any human being - anything with a pulse. He doesn't discern. That's the great thing about him. This could work.
TVGuide.com: Leslie aside, are we going to see other ladies for Howard?
Helberg: Hopefully. He hasn't seen any action in the first four episodes, so I'm concerned. [ Laughs] But I suspect there'll be something for him. If not, he'll just relentlessly flirt, which is what he does anyway.
TVGuide.com: What are the chances of him getting a steady girlfriend?
Helberg: I don't really know. I don't know if it's going to happen. I don't think he's ever been in a relationship - I mean, I haven't discussed it with the writers, but I'm pretty sure he's never been in a relationship - so I don't think he would even know what to do if he gets a real girlfriend. He likes the chase, he just hits on girls. He knows how to hit on girls, so if he gets a girlfriend, he'd probably be bored. He's the hunter, [so there would be] nothing left to hunt.
TVGuide.com: You think he's scared his mom would flip out? I mean, they still live together.
Helberg: They do. He's 27, but still living with his mother. Yeah, she probably would. Unfortunately, she's the only woman in his life now. That probably has something to do with it.
TVGuide.com: Where does Howard get his confidence with the ladies?
Helberg: He's just delusional. In his head, he's got this all figured out. He's done his work and he thinks he knows what to do to pick up girls. He's got it down - how to dress, those sweaters and tight, tight pants, knowing multiple languages, cheesy pick-up lines, so he just goes with it. And some people just have that confidence and swagger and he's got it. I liken him to James Bond. He knows - or he thinks he knows - how to get the girls.
TVGuide.com: But he doesn't have a Bond Girl.
Helberg: He doesn't, that's the problem. Maybe one day he'll get a P***y Galore.
TVGuide.com: Is knowing multiple languages is the way to a girl's heart?
Helberg: He thinks so. I don't. Howard subscribes to the notion that you never know who you're going to meet and win over with perfect Russian, so he's dedicated himself to learning those [six] specific languages and he has that in his repertoire.
TVGuide.com: Do you actually know any of those languages?
Helberg: I don't. I took Latin in high school, so that won't come in handy nowadays unless I'm trying to woo the Pope. That's not one of Howard's languages, but hey, it may show up.
TVGuide.com: Let's talk about your hair. How do you get that look?
Helberg: That is achieved with lots of flat-ironing. They flat-iron it out and it gets perfectly sculpted to that helmet. We call it the Maniston. It is the new Rachel.
TVGuide.com: Rachel eventually changed her hair. Will Howard change his style?
Helberg: No, I don't think so. That's part of this whole image. His research has shown that's the hairstyle you need to get girls, so he's very particular about it, and yeah, I don't think that's going to change. I don't think any of his image will change. He's got it all down.
TVGuide.com: I heard you're a huge New Kids on the Block fan.
Helberg: [ Laughs] I am - or I was. I don't really care about the comeback and their new album, but back in the day, I was definitely "Hanging Tough."
TVGuide.com: I thought I was going to marry Joey McIntyre.
Helberg: Joey was my favorite too. I didn't think I was going to marry him, but I wanted to be his best man. I was like 8 or 9. I had all these posters of them. Actually I still have them; they're in a desk drawer. I had Jordan Knight with his ducktails and I saved ducktails. They're in the drawer too. That's kind of creepy, isn't it? [ Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Slightly. But it's love. I think they should come on the show, do a little cross-promotion. They can serenade Howard as he's hooking up with a girl.
Helberg: They should, and I can get tips from them on how to really pick up girls. I'll show Jordan the ducktails and scare him. It'll be cathartic for me.
TVGuide.com: We can't ignore that other show you were on: Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog. How did you get involved and will there be more Dr. Horrible?
Helberg: I went to high school with Joss Whedon's brother and they asked me one day to do this. It was during the strike, or it was spawned during the strike, and we shot it a little afterwards, but I was like, "Yeah, totally." It was great, just genius. Well, I guess it helps to be Joss Whedon. [ Laughs] But it was a great way to produce material purely for the Web and watch it grow. I don't really know what's next for it, but there's been talk of more acts, maybe a show or movie. We'll see.
Big Bang Video Q&As:
" Kaley Cuoco (Penny)
" Johnny Galecki (Leonard)
" Jim Parsons (Sheldon)
" Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh)
" Simon Helberg (Wolowitz)
Related:
" Jim Parsons: Big Bang Now Begets Bigger Laughs