Tragic Details About The Big Bang Theory Star Simon Helberg

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

"The Big Bang Theory" remains one of Chuck Lorre's best TV shows (if not the best); however, it would be nothing without the sensational, hilarious cast that supports all the gags and storylines. Simon Helberg became a household name thanks to his portrayal of the weird, geeky, and occasionally creepy Howard Wolowitz across 12 seasons. While Helberg was anything but a nobody before the sitcom debuted, "The Big Bang Theory" turned out to be the big break that changed everything for him.

What many viewers don't know is Helberg's real-life story, including the challenges he experienced before, during, and even after the popular series. Even though he had wanted to become an actor, his parents wanted him to pursue another vocation — not for any nefarious reason, but due to their own hardships and experiences within the industry. Then, when he secured his breakout as Howard, he dealt with many unseen emotions behind the scenes.

Howard Wolowitz made us laugh and cringe in equal measure in "The Big Bang Theory," but let's take a moment to recognize the journey of actor Simon Helberg's life. Maybe some of his challenges could help another person who is experiencing the same and needs a high-profile example of someone who went on to achieve great success despite setbacks.

Tracing Simon Helberg's family history reveals a story of perseverance and resilience during one of humanity's darkest periods. His grandparents on his father's side, Sam and Tonia Helberg, were born in Poland and experienced the cruelty of Nazi Germany during World War II. Along with their families, Sam and Tonia were put in concentration camps. They survived the Holocaust, but many of their relatives unfortunately didn't.

According to the Toledo Blade, Sam spent upwards of five years in a camp that wasn't too far from Auschwitz, learning how to survive by providing barbering services to the Nazis. It was during this harrowing time that Sam would meet his future wife, Tonia Altman. After Sam and Tonia were freed, they married and had their first child, Sandy — Simon's father.

In 1950, the Helbergs immigrated to Toledo, Ohio, where Tonia became involved in the local Jewish community, and Sam found work as a barber before later getting into real estate. According to their youngest son, Tom, "[Sam] had a head for numbers," which helped to make him successful in the industry. Sam died in 2003 at the age of 78, while Tonia passed away in 2009 at the age of 84.

Simon Helberg admitted that "The Big Bang Theory" was "the greatest course in acting," but he might never have experienced it had he listened to his parents, Sandy and Harriett. He grew up in Los Angeles, and both of his parents were heavily involved in the entertainment industry: Sandy was an actor and a part of the Groundlings improv group, while Harriett worked as a casting director. Eventually, Sandy and Harriett combined their powers to write scripts for television, including episodes of "The Golden Girls" and "Perfect Strangers."

Considering that he grew up in the industry and lived a stone's throw from the hub of entertainment, the potential to go into acting was always around Simon and alluring to him. He was under no illusions that it would be an uphill struggle, though, having watched his parents toil over the years. As it turns out, his parents didn't want the same struggles for their son. "I saw how hard it could be," he told Zachary Quinto during a conversation for Interview. "And my parents weren't like, 'Oh yeah! This is a family business!' They were like, 'No, don't do it. Or go to school. Maybe you could minor in being a doctor ...'"

Simon did come up with an alternative solution just in case, though: He knew how to play piano. If acting didn't work out, he planned to become a jazz pianist.

It appears that the passion for the entertainment industry runs in the Helberg blood. Apart from Simon and his parents, his younger brother, Mason, is involved in the hip-hop game under the name of Masonx3x5. Mason credited Simon for sparking his love for music after his older brother gave him a guitar as a present. This evolved into him discovering hip-hop and a greater desire to be in music. Eventually, Mason enrolled at the Musicians Institute to study audio engineering.

In the past, Mason had several run-ins with the law. As revealed by RadarOnline in 2018, Mason had been charged with drug paraphernalia possession in 2014. While he had a court date set, Mason never appeared, so a warrant was issued for his arrest.

After an arrest in 2020, Mason enrolled in a program at Victory Outreach Men's Home and began to take steps to rebuild his music career. In 2024, Mason opened up to Voyage LA about how he had gone through "a really rough patch" in his personal life. "I went through a very bad drug addiction, which caused me to be homeless in the valley," he said. "I've been sober now for almost four years."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In "The Big Bang Theory," Howard Wolowitz is surprisingly one of the most confident characters among his nerdy friendship circle. However, in the real world, Simon Helberg isn't nearly as confident as the character he portrays onscreen — especially when it comes to his craft.

In 2016, Helberg played pianist Cosmé McMoon in "Florence Foster Jenkins." The film deals with the real-life story of socialite Florence Foster Jenkins (played by Meryl Streep), who is regarded as a terrible singer but was able to have a career since her social circle refused to come clean with her about her lack of talent. McMoon serves as Florence's collaborator (or conspirator) in the story. In an interview with The Guardian during the press tour for "Florence Foster Jenkins," Helberg admitted that he wouldn't want to hear any criticism, because it would hit his self-esteem. "I'm deeply insecure," he said. "I ask my wife all the time: 'Was that [okay]? Are people lying?' I'm not as happily oblivious as I'd like."

Speaking at the Spotlight@SDA series, which was hosted by USC School of Dramatic Arts, Helberg opened up about how his self-doubt has never gone away, regardless of how much success he's achieved in his acting career. "It's a really vulnerable thing," he said, though adding, "if you can kind of embrace that, actually, I think your work gets deeper."

Like most actors, Simon Helberg found out that Hollywood is an unforgiving place, where sometimes talent alone isn't enough to break in and establish oneself. Appearing at the Spotlight@SDA series, the actor discussed the early days of his career. He revealed how he left New York University before completing his studies, since he had signed up with a talent agency and believed he only needed a lucky break to kickstart his career toward superstardom. He was close to it too, with two big opportunities teasing on the horizon, but neither happened. 

Helberg claimed he attended 1,000 auditions during this time. The law of averages says he would have secured a role or two in this time, and that proved correct as he got some minor work out of the auditions. Even so, the constant rejection stung him. "Rejection is really, really hard," he said. "I was doing great in these auditions and not getting the parts."

His fortune changed for the better when he landed a role on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," but something else happened at the same time: He was offered the part of Howard on "The Big Bang Theory." Helberg rolled the dice and picked the latter over the former. It turned out to be a wise choice in retrospect, since "The Big Bang Theory" ran for 12 seasons while "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" was canceled after just one.

In "The Big Bang Theory," the relationship between Howard Wolowitz and Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch) is quite the story with numerous unexpected twists and turns. In the real world, Simon Helberg went through a rollercoaster period in which he nearly lost one of the most important people in his life: his future wife, Jocelyn Towne. While Helberg and Towne were married in 2007 and have two children together, their relationship experienced a rocky patch that threatened to derail everything.

Helberg told Interview that he hit "a quarter-life crisis" and began to question his relationship with Towne in his 20s. "I had a wonderful girlfriend and I thought, 'Hey, I know I should get married, but should I? I am going to [sow] my oats,'" he said. "And then I realized I couldn't [sow] even one oat, and then I came crawling back, tried to repair everything and she had fled to Paris and by that point had met a guy." Helberg followed Towne to Paris in an attempt to woo her back, which he succeeded in doing, then he popped the big question — and she said yes.

If the story sounds like something out of a movie, the good news is that Helberg actually turned the whole experience into one. Released in 2014, Helberg and Towne directed "We'll Never Have Paris," in which their turbulent journey to engagement is fictionalized but based on their real-life event.

For anybody on the outside looking in, "The Big Bang Theory" should have been the most exciting time of Simon Helberg's career — and maybe even his life at that point. He had a starring role in one of the biggest sitcoms in the world, established himself as a well-known actor, and was about to get married. However, as Helberg revealed on "The Big Bang Theory" co-star Mayim Bialik's podcast, he was experiencing mental health issues and dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) behind the scenes.

"Seriously, I do remember being curled up in a fetal position in my dressing room multiple times," he said. "Hysterical, you know." Helberg explained how he sought therapy and received medication, but it was a long journey where he questioned himself and felt conflicting emotions about it. He added, "There's that awful, ugly part of it that is so challenging [and] accompanies all of these breakdowns, which is, 'Why am I not enjoying this?' or how 'I'm so ungrateful,' or 'I'm so awful,' 'I'm so superficial.'"

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

"The Big Bang Theory" boasts a dizzying number of awards and turned out to be a mega-hit while on the air. Yet the show encountered a period of knife-edge tension before the start of Season 8 in 2014. The cast members' contracts had come up for renewal, and everybody wanted a bigger slice of the hearty pie that "The Big Bang Theory" had become. While Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), and Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter) received juicy increases, the negotiations for Kunal Nayyar (Raj Koothrappali) and Simon Helberg weren't so straightforward and dragged on longer than anyone anticipated.

According to Variety, Helberg and Nayyar wanted to match the salary of their co-stars. Due to the various back-and-forth negotiations, the production couldn't move forward when it was supposed to. Reportedly, the network and producers' patience wore thin, and they had started to put together the pieces for an updated show without Raj and Howard Wolowitz. Oh, the horror!

At the end of the day, Helberg and Nayyar were given an ultimatum: either accept the new deals on the table or see their characters exit the show. The pair accepted. While it's reported they received a significant bump in their earnings, it was nowhere near what Parsons, Cuoco, or Galecki got.

There's no disputing who is the most popular character in "The Big Bang Theory:" Sheldon Cooper. Sure, everybody contributes to the story, but Sheldon is the heart and soul of the sitcom. So, when actor Jim Parsons decided it was time to move on, it sent shockwaves throughout the entire production.

As revealed by Jessica Radloff's "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series" (via People), it was decided fairly quickly that the show would end rather than recast or continue without Parsons. Thus, the time came to break the news to the other cast members. Expectedly, everybody was shellshocked by the news. While Simon Helberg understood Parsons' decision, he didn't get how it was portrayed that the cancellation was all due to Parsons leaving "The Big Bang Theory."

"In terms of the actual, I guess what you could call the cancellation of the show, that occurred in [that] meeting, where we were informed by Chuck that the show was done," he said. "That's what I found to be the most upsetting. Jim didn't cancel our show. Jim just finished the run of our show, as we all did, contractually, and no one ever asked us to continue doing the show. That is not an exaggeration." It's a fair point, since something else could have been done with the other characters had the producers wanted to move forward.

Acting is quite the conundrum for actors. While they want to secure coveted roles and would like nothing more than long-term security in their jobs (much like everybody else on the planet, really), there's the real threat of typecasting looming over them if they perform almost too well. As a matter of fact, there are actors who struggled for work because their famous roles were too iconic.

In Simon Helberg's case, it isn't only the fact that he played Howard Wolowitz in "The Big Bang Theory" that might be difficult to overlook, but he's also played several derivatives of the same character throughout his career. Whenever somebody requires a geeky personality, Helberg becomes the go-to actor. This might result in him being top of mind for these types of parts and receiving a lot of offers, but there's a negative side effect, too, since industry decision-makers won't see him as anything more than this archetype, and he'll struggle to spread his wings as an actor.

"It's like golden handcuffs," he revealed during the Spotlight@SDA series. "I'm very happy to get work and play all kinds of odd, alien-type people. But it will be harder for me to play a love interest or a normal human." In other words, don't expect to see Helberg cast as James Bond or the lead in a Nicholas Sparks-penned romance anytime soon.