Summary
- The Big Bang Theory cast salaries increased significantly over the course of the show, with the main cast earning over one million dollars per episode by the final season.
- Secondary characters like Wil Wheaton, Kevin Sussman, and John Ross Bowie made $20,000 to $50,000 per episode, earning a decent paycheck despite not being part of the main cast.
- Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch, who joined the show later, made less than the main cast but still earned around $425,000 per episode by the end. Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg also saw their salaries rise from $45,000 to $1,000,000 as the show progressed.
The Big Bang Theory quickly became one of the most popular television shows in the world, breaking records, and drawing a huge audience, and the Big Bang Theory cast salary reflected the demand for the series. The quirky sitcom lasted a whopping 12 seasons, and famously, by the end of the series, the main Big Bang Theory cast was pulling in a huge salary per episode - over one million per episode by the final season (via ET Online).
The Big Bang Theory followed a group of scientists in different fields who became friends with the woman who lived across the hall. Their lives and relationships changed drastically as a result. With twelve years of their lives invested in making people laugh as nerdy scientists and hilarious friends, there's no doubt that the cast only continued to make more and more money as the series gained popularity and continued at the top of everyone's radar. The difference between the first and last season's Big Bang Theory cast salary, though, is incredible.
Wil Wheaton: $20,000
As far as secondary characters go, salaries didn't usually exactly go up or down as the show went on. Wil Wheaton was no exception, and even though he literally played himself, The Kiwi Report initially reported he was making $20,000 per episode throughout the course of the show in an article that has since been removed from the website. Other frequent guest stars earned $50,000 or more for a single episode appearance, so it is possible that his earnings were higher.
With only 17 episodes under his belt during the run of the series, he definitely made an impression. Self-professed geeks who are fans of the show already know and love the Star Trek icon, even if his character was one of the least likable in The Big Bang Theory.
Kevin Sussman: $50,000
There's no indication that Kevin Sussman ever got a salary increase, even though he actually became a pretty prominent character as the series progressed. Everyone loved Stuart Bloom as a secondary character, of course, especially as he became such a big part of Howard and Bernadette's lives. Stuart started as simply an acquaintance of the group who ran a comic book store and becomes a trusted member of their circle.
From the beginning to the end, Kevin Sussman was reported to be making $50,000 per episode (via Affair Post). He appeared in 84 episodes, so while this is lower than the main The Big Bang Theory cast salaries, it's still a very big paycheck.
John Ross Bowie: $50,000
Much like Kevin Sussman, this secondary character was raking in around $50,000 per episode, starting in 2009 for his first appearance, which was reported to stay the same until his last appearance in 2019 (via Tuko).
He appeared in 25 episodes over the course of the show, and John Ross Bowie became absolutely iconic as Barry Kripke. As one of the most intelligent supporting characters in The Big Bang Theory, he is a rival and a wonderfully annoying nemesis for the main characters. His salary remained pretty steady, but so did his role in the show, even if Barry did become more of a friend over time instead of an underdeveloped villain.
Mayim Bialik: $45,000 - $425,000
Mayim Bialik joined the show as a secondary character and love interest for Sheldon in season 3, but she was still getting a decent salary from the start. However, over time, she became a core character in the show. From becoming a close friend to Penny to her relationship with Sheldon, Amy ended up with some of the best story arcs on The Big Bang Theory.
Along with Melissa Rauch, these two women made less than the rest of the team because they joined the show later than the rest of the main cast. They were still pulling in about $425,000 per episode by the end (not quite on par with the other major characters), but their lack of appearance in the earlier seasons definitely made a difference to their growing pay (via THR).
Melissa Rauch: $45,000 - $425,000
Like the actors behind Raj and Howard, Amy and Bernadette's actresses were often partnered together when it came to salaries and their growth. Melissa Rauch, who played Bernadette, joined the series in season 3 as Howard's love interest. Her character was slowly fleshed out over time, and Bernadette eventually married and started a family with Howard. She ended the show by making over $425,000 per episode.
In fact, the other five main cast members all gave up $100,000 of their own salaries so that Bialik and Rauch could be earning a more fair rate (via The National Post). These two never caught up to the rest, but they were still making some very decent salaries by the time the series took its final bow.
Kunal Nayyar: $45,000 - $1,000,000
Raj and Howard have the sweetest friendship on the show, and they are also definitely the fourth and fifth biggest characters on The Big Bang Theory. The core trio of Sheldon, Penny, and Leonard often led the "A" storylines. Surprisingly, though, they were not always earning as much as Sheldon, Penny, and Leonard, despite being around from the beginning. To start, Kunal Nayyar was making $45,000 per episode to play Raj, which is still a great starting salary for a sitcom (via TV Overmind).
This tripled to $150,000 by season 2, and then skyrocketed all the way to $600,000 by the eighth and ninth seasons, before managing to hit that one-million mark by the 12th season when the main cast negotiated for salary increases all around.
Simon Helberg: $45,000 - $1,000,000
There's no surprise that Simon Helberg had the exact same salary increase as his co-star, Kunal Nayyar. There were no major disparities between the two of them in terms of character size and screen time, and everything was kept the same throughout the show's entire run.
These two actors also joined the list of top-paid actors on television in the later seasons, and they were earning over $20 million a year. Simon Helberg deserves it, too, because no one can imagine Howard as anyone else.
Kaley Cuoco: $60,000 - $1,000,000
The main three members of this cast, as reflected by their salaries, have been widely known as Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, and Jim Parsons (Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon respectively). Kaley Cuoco is the perfect Penny, and is arguably the main character of the show - without her, none of the major stories of the series would have even happened.
Salary negotiations for Cuoco, Parsons, and Galecki happened at the same points in the show's run. She had a similar rise in salary to Parsons and Galecki, and ended up hitting the one million mark in The Big Bang Theory cast salaries - and becoming the second-highest-paid actress in the world at the time.
Johnny Galecki: $60,000 - $1,000,000
Johnny Galecki had a similar salary from start to finish as his co-star, Jim Parsons. As Leonard, he was one of the core characters, and that was reflected as the series progressed. His career and relationship with Penny grew throughout the series while Penny found herself along the way. By the final season, like all the Big Bang Theory casts' salaries, his salary greatly increased - all the way to one million dollars per episode.
Unsurprisingly, this also put him on the list of best-paid actors and reflects his importance to the show. From pilot to finale, he's one of the biggest and most important characters in the comedy, so it's no surprise that he was earning as much as Cuoco and Parsons were.
Jim Parsons: $60,000 - $1,000,000
Jim Parsons will forever be known as Sheldon Cooper in the minds and hearts of all television fans, regardless of whether they're die-hard fans of this show. Starting off, Parsons made a salary of $60,000. By the middle seasons, he was making about $300,000. However, that nearly quadrupled by the end! By season 8, Jim Parsons was making over 1 million dollars per episode and was the highest-paid actor on television (via Forbes).
While Jim Parsons’ exact pay for narrating the prequel series Young Sheldon is unknown, he was rumored to be making $1.5 million more for the season than his Big Bang Theory cast members in the final season of the flagship series (via The Things). Since the main cast had all negotiated for salary increases for pay parity, that would mean Parsons’ additional income would be coming from Young Sheldon. Whether that is entirely true, or whether the amount has increased, however, is unknown. What is known is that The Big Bang Theory cast salaries changed drastically from the first episode to the series finale.