“I never got to do these kinds of action sequences and car chases and it’s been really exciting,” the “Big Bang Theory” icon told UPI.
1 of 3 | Left to right, Natasha Lyonne, Simon Helberg and Lili Taylor star in “Poker Face,” which wraps ups its second season on Thursday. Photo by Ralph Bavaro/Peacock
The Big Bang Theory icon Simon Helberg says he signed on to star in Poker Face because the mystery dramedy gives him the rare chance to play the hero.
“I never got to do these kinds of action sequences and car chases and it’s been really exciting,” Helberg, 44, told UPI in a Zoom interview Tuesday.
“I read for this part and really wanted to do it because I haven’t gotten to play a character like this,” he said. “As soon as I read it, I knew it was spectacular because sometimes you can just tell even, literally, from the way it looks on the page. There’s such an art and a craft to how Rian [Johnson] writes. I was just thrilled to get to be a part of this world. It was such a three-dimensional character, who ends up becoming this unlikely hero.”
The series stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a human lie detector who helps solve crimes as she drifts from town to town, on the run from gangsters.
One step ahead. Always.
Watch the season finale of #PokerFace this Thursday on Peacock. pic.twitter.com/8OBijTS0We— Peacock (@peacock) July 8, 2025
Helberg plays Luca, an FBI agent with whom Charlie keeps crossing paths.
“They have a symbiotic relationship,” Helberg said of Charlie and Luca.
“At the same time, they need each other and they’re, obviously, at odds with each other in some way, which is really sort of oddly sweet and romantic,” he added. “There’s kind of like almost a forbiddenness to their dynamic.”
While her talent for sniffing out deception gets her in a lot of trouble, it can frequently be an asset to Luca.
“She’s inadvertently helping Luca fumble up the ladder of the FBI,” Helberg joked.
“Then, he helps bail her out in moments where she’s in a sticky situation,” he added. “There’s some kind of chemistry there. It’s really fun because we don’t know as actors — or as the audience — where it’s going exactly, but it feels kind of electric to me.”
Having a different case and guest cast each week also adds to the fun.
“There’s such a brilliant use of everybody,” Helberg said.
“To have Richard [Kind], who everyone loves in the deepest parts of their bones — he’s like a national treasure — to have him get killed by me, being set up by John Mulaney, who’s the most cherubic, sweet, again, national treasure, and little Rhea Perlman on the other end of it, is so well-crafted,” he added.
“It’s constantly shocking and funny and can be poignant and that’s just because the writing is so great.”
Although he doesn’t always get to share scenes with the guest stars, Helberg said he likes knowing some of his old friends like Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey are part of the Poker Face world, too.
“It’s like going to summer camp,” he said.
“[With] Jason and Melanie, we were kind of crossing paths,” Helberg explained. “I didn’t work with them, but then I hit the trailer and I found, ‘Oh, they’re there!’ Or you see Tim Meadows walking out, or Haley Joel Osment has an eyeball hanging off this head. It feels like a very classic, nostalgic kind of Hollywood where there’s just this crew of players, like a repertory [company] or something.”
Helberg has been working steadily in Hollywood for more than 20 years, turning in great performances in a wide range of films such as Van Wilder, Walk Hard, Old School, Good Night and Good Luck, Florence Foster Jenkins, A Serious Man and Annette.
Asked about his strategy for picking roles, Helberg said he has developed an instinct for finding projects that combine memorable characters, excellent writing and people with whom he likes to work.
“I have to fight for a lot of roles, too,” the actor said.
“I’m just looking to do new things for my own satisfaction, but, also, to show different colors and different parts of me to the people watching,” he added.
“It’s odd that I got to play the same character for 12 years. I went in to audition for a character and I played it for 12 years, so that’s more [unusual]. So, the idea that I get to play different characters isn’t usually the stretch. You don’t usually get to play the same character forever, but I did.”
And now he’s eager to play characters different from Howard, the awkward aerospace engineer he portrayed on The Big Bang Theory from 2007 through 2019.
“I’m trying to break into, ‘Hey, look, I’m going to push the limits of maybe what they think I am or what I can do and push myself, too.’ That’s the goal,” Helberg said.
Season 2 of Poker Face wraps up on Peacock Thursday.
