Behind the Scenes with Mayim

You’ve read about it in the press, and you finally got to see the episode. Now, here’s some more behind-the-scenes info from the long-awaited Shamy “coitus” episode right here, directly from Mayim herself! And we’ve got another post coming on Friday, so stay tuned!

Behind the Scenes: “The Opening Night Excitation”

Want to know how it all went down?

• When Sheldon tells Penny and Bernadette he wants to have coitus with Amy, we experimented with Kaley doing spit takes, dropping the glass, and snapping the top off the glass. All were super funny. (As you saw, we went with snapping the top off the glass.)
• “You shut your damn mouth” was delivered exactly as it was the first time I did it, as it was in the scene where I shout it with the girls on the landing. I’m often asked if things like the “It’s a tiara!!!” or “Pass the butter” are directed or instinctual. These were all instinct, including “Shut your damn mouth!” same with “Let’s get me WAXED!”
• When Sheldon shows up with flowers and the door is chained, in the first rehearsal, Jim opened the door so hard it broke the lock clear off the door. They fixed it right away but he made sure to be gentler every other time.
• When Amy enters the bedroom – and Sheldon is under the covers – this is the first time we see Amy’s arms and legs this exposed. We chose a nightgown that we felt would reflect her style and conservative nature, while being shorter than her clothes tend to be, and a small cap sleeve.
• Jim and I are both very pale. Neither of us wanted “body makeup,” which most actors use (unless they have fake tans, which most actors do, LOL). He and I both were fine looking as pale and pasty as we are. The makeup team took the shine off of our skin a bit so we wouldn’t cause flares from the lights, but what you see there, that’s pretty much us.
• I never looked in the mirror to see what my hair looked like before that final scene. My hair woman, Sylvia, did most of the work, and I just placed it in front of my face where it felt like it should go. I’m told it was spot-on!
• In case you’re curious, Jim and I texted before and after the episode aired as well as tagging each other beforehand on Instagram. It’s like we made a baby and everyone got to see it for the first time tonight!

Thank you all for being so enthusiastic about these characters and in particular about the developing relationship between Amy and Sheldon. I feel very lucky to be able to bring Amy to all of you and look forward to sharing additional inside scoop from future episodes!

Reminder! Our #ImWithMayim merch presale ends tomorrow – place your orders here: cznd.co/grok-nation/