Motivation comes from many different places. For Mayim Bialik, the priority was to get back at acting as a way to obtain health insurance again.
The Big Bang star revealed, "I'm sure all of you up north can understand that I was running out of health insurance because that's not considered a human right in this country," she said.
As for her personal life, things were also very different. Mayim Bialik was in a teaching role, taking on several different topics including neuroscience.
"So I literally figure – I mean, I had a toddler and a newborn and I had been a grad student and my insurance was expiring. I figured if I can just get even a couple of jobs like here or there, I'll be able to get insurance again. I did not expect to be a regular on a television show. I had been teaching neuroscience."
Bialik continued, "I've tutored Hebrew. I've tutored piano. I wear a lot of hats, you know."
Of course, Bialik's life completely changed thanks to the show. In addition, she was a valued member of The Big Bang Theory behind the scenes, especially given her wealth of knowledge in regards to science.
During her Big Bang Theory audition, creator Bill Prady noticed a certain extra in Bialik's resume. The actress added that she had a PHd in neuroscience. Prady had asked if this was for real, and he was intrigued that it was indeed legitimate.
Speaking alongside Conan, Bialik revealed that the degree came in handy as of season 4, given that her character catered to her real-life background in neuroscience.
Bialik revealed that everything was always on point, and that there were others who checked to make sure the facts were legitimate as well.
Conan praised Bialik for her involvement on the show - and the same holds true for the fans. However, Bialik was unsure about her future on the series, and didn't know how long the ride would last.
Mayim Bialik had certain uncertainties during her run on The Big Bang Theory. Among them, was getting booked on an episode per episode basis. Meaning, she never had any guarantees of a return.
Bialik tells EW, "They decided after that summer break that I would be brought back, but they book you one episode at a time, which is not stressful at all! After my episode in the season three finale, I literally thought my character might never come back. I had been out of the industry for so long . . . it really could have gone either way."
Bialik also had concerns about her role on the show and how it might tamper with Sheldon's momentum.
"There was some negative attention when I joined the cast because some people held Sheldon very near and dear to them and didn't want him to change or become a cheesy boyfriend. To me, there was never a chance of that, and I think our writers actually handled that arc of him becoming more interested in romance very, very well."
Ultimately, it proved to be the exact opposite as fans loved what Amy did to Sheldon, while Jim Parsons himself pushed to keep Amy throughout the series, especially if there was ever a moment that the showrunners were turning sour on the character. Bialik was in it for the long run, and her contributions were monumental to the show's success, adding that much more depth to the episodes.
