10 Times TV Actors Thought They Would Be Fired For Sure
5. Wil Wheaton - The Big Bang Theory
The great Wil Wheaton appeared as a fictionalised version of himself on 17 episodes of The Big Bang Theory, and while you might expect a minor recurring role in which an actor plays themselves to be a relatively low-pressure gig, Wheaton sure didn't see it that way.
In a 2019 interview with Cleveland.com, Wheaton admitted that his own anxieties caused him to fear being fired from the show, no matter that literally nobody else could've actually played his part. He said:
"I live with so much anxiety, I tend to be very hard on myself... One of the reasons that I felt so much joy on this show, and feel so much sorrow about it coming to an end, is that the cast and crew and producers and writers always made me feel like I was a valued part of their group and that I deserved to be there. But because of my anxiety, it took me a while to accept that...
After every episode, I was afraid I was going to get fired... It wasn't until this last one that I actually thought, 'They're not going hire someone else to play Wil Wheaton.' By the time I got out of my own way and allowed myself to fully enjoy that experience, the show's over."