SDCC: DJ Qualls regrets Big Bang Theory role, admits to crying after taking it

DJ Qualls regrets taking the job on Big Bang Theory and admits to crying after taking it. He says his role on Creepshow is much more his type of project.

You probably remember DJ Qualls from those teen comedies in the 1990s but Qualls is all grown up now and set to star in the new reboot of Stephen King’s Creepshow and while he’s still that same funny guy you remember, he’s also so much more.

Qualls spoke with 1428 Elm on Friday at San Diego Comic-Con and admitted that while he’s done plenty of serious roles he has one on his IMDB that he regrets taking and it’s probably not the one you’d think.

"“I try not to take things that I feel that can’t rise to,” Qualls said. “And I’ve only taken one job, and I won’t mention it … it was on Big Bang Theory … that I shouldn’t have taken it. That’s not me. That presentational style of acting is so not me. And I took it and regretted, I cried. I cried that night. The day I remember driving to Warner Bros praying to God and I don’t do that, that here would be a fire at Warner Bros and there was!  Isn’t that crazy? Don’t f–k with me. But it wasn’t big enough for it to delay taping.”"

It’s that type of role that Qualls turns down now, and his new role in Creepshow is exactly the type he’s made for.

"“I am the only person actually in The Finger. Yeah, it’s an only one actor piece. Well, no, there’s a man at my door. He’s got one line,” Qualls laughs. “But that was part of what drew me to this project because it’s basically 39 pages of solo dialogue delivered mostly. And they offered it to me three days before it shot. And I was supposed to be flying and so I had very little time. My initial thing was turning it down. And then I was like, ‘why? why it’s really well written.’I got the schedule sent to me and sat down with it. And I was like, if I can memorize 12 pages before I go to bed tonight, I’ll take it. And I did. And it’s, it was easy to memorize. It’s really well written. It was so fun. It’s a great challenge. You know, and Greg, [Nicotero]… I don’t know if I can even say if I can say this, but he’s made this beautiful puppet that I get to act with. It’s, he is like a model maker, a special effects master. It was pretty f–king cool.”"

Of course, memorizing that much dialogue with little time has his challenges, especially with the pressure of Hollywood on your back.

"“If you get there and you don’t know your lines then you’re an asshole, like you’re the professional. And they’re like, ‘God, this guy was he drinking?’ So I knew if I didn’t know it, it was going to be hard. And also you don’t want to … like Hollywood tends to be kind of c–ty in a way that like when things get canceled people have glee about it, you know what I mean?Like, people sort of delight other people’s failures. But like, it’s my biggest nightmare to show up on your set and let you down, because people don’t realize that it took two years to get this show greenlit. And this is somebody’s dream.”"

The show is produced by Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead) and will air on Shudder starting Sept. 24. It will run over the course of six weeks and include 12 unique stories.