Hollywood star nearly played Penny in Big Bang Theory as Kaley Cuoco revealed she was initially rejected for the role

Although most fans of The Big Bang Theory reckon Kaley Cuoco was the perfect person to play Penny, it turns out another actress almost pipped her to the post.

The 39-year-old previously revealed that she was initially rejected for the role which several Hollywood starlets were also vying for, but to be fair, the knock-back might have been something of a compliment, depending on which way you look at it.

That's because the smiley Cheesecake Factory server we all know and love was actually conceived as a 'cynical, down on her luck, and off-putting' character at first.

She wasn't even called Penny either, as producers had to change her name to Katie because CBS had another pilot airing at the time which featured a character with that moniker.

Still, Cuoco 'loved the role' and was thrilled by the prospect of working with The Big Bang Theory co-creator Chuck Lorre again, so she was pretty disheartened when she didn't get it.

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book which lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes world of the show, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story, the actor said: "I know Chuck really wanted me for the role of Katie, and I was definitely bummed when I didn’t get it, but I kind of have a way of moving on because you have to."

Casting director Ken Miller also confessed he was also disappointed Cuoco didn't get it, according to an excerpt from the book shared by The Hollywood Reporter.

Kaley Cuoco's character was originally supposed to be 'cynical, down on her luck, and off-putting' (CBS)

He said: "She’s so sunny and bubbly, and they just loved her, but she just didn’t bring the dark qualities. She just wasn’t the essence of Penny in that first incarnation."

The female lead in The Big Bang Theory was supposed to be a moodier, more worldly character, according to the cast and crew Radloff interviewed for her book.

The author explained that Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei, 60, was actually the front runner for the role of Katie, noting that she had even auditioned alongside Jim Parsons, 51, who played Sheldon Cooper.

Musing about the idea of Tomie starring opposite him, Parsons told Radloff: "Oh my gosh, what a different world that would have been."

According to producer Bill Prady, American Pie star Tara Reid, 49, also auditioned for the role of Katie, as did Saved by the Bell actress Elizabeth Berkley, 52.

Jodi Lyn O’Keefe - best known for her roles in She's All That, Whatever It Takes and Prison Break - was even cast in the role of Katie for the pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory, but later got let go.

At the first ever table read, the producers felt something wasn't quite right despite the cast gelling well together, and this news came as quite the shock to Parsons and his co-star Johnny Galecki, 49.

There's a universe out there somewhere with Marisa Tomei as Penny (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)

Reflecting on his reaction to finding out O'Keefe, 46, had been axed 'just 30 minutes' later, Parsons said: "I hadn’t done a ton of table reads in my career by that point, but I’m not an idiot - I know when someone’s not good.

"And Jodi was great. I was stunned. But they realised during that table read that the character’s approach to the other characters was too harsh, too whatever, even though Jodi, in my opinion, nailed what they had written."

Casting director Nikki Valko explained that although O'Keefe was brilliant in the original pilot, The Big Bang Theory simply needed a 'totally different' female lead.

"[O'Keefe] brought a darkness, which just didn’t work, so she was replaced after the table read," Valko told Radloff. "We had to recast in three days, so I remember holding auditions Easter Sunday."

Sons & Daughters actress Amanda Walsh briefly held the role of Katie, before producers decided to go back to the drawing board and think up something different.

That's when Penny was born - and after beating out some of Hollywood's heaviest hitters in the acting world, Cuoco got the call back.