Ugly Betty's Petty Move Cost Kevin Sussman His Big Break on Big Bang Theory

One actor who learned this lesson the hard way is Kevin Sussman, who is best known for his portrayal of Stuart Bloom on the hit television series The Big Bang Theory.

Sussman's rise to fame was not an easy one and he faced numerous obstacles along the way. And one particular incident involving the series Ugly Betty has recently come out, shedding new light on the challenges the actor had to deal with.

Kevin Sussman embarked on his acting career by appearing in commercials in the 1990s, mainly portraying geeks. His first appearance in a movie was in the 1999 film Liberty Heights.

However, it wasn't until he was cast as Stuart Bloom on the hit CBS series The Big Bang Theory in 2009 that Sussman became a household name.

His portrayal of Stuart, the lovable but socially awkward comic book store owner, quickly became a fan favorite.

However, the actor's road to success was not without its bumps, including a particularly devastating setback early on in his career.

In 2006, Sussman was cast in a guest role on the ABC series Ugly Betty. Throughout the first season, he played Walter, a love interest for the show's main character, Betty Suarez, played by America Ferrera.

But did you know that Sussman was also offered to play one of the lead characters, Howard Wolowitz, on TBBT?

Well, according to Jessica Radloff's book, The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, the role was initially created specifically for him.

Consequently, the casting was completed and Sussman was enjoying a celebratory dinner with his manager when he got the bad news that he was unable to accept the offer due to being contractually bound to Ugly Betty. But here's the kicker – ABC refused to release him from his obligations, but he wasn't used again in the show after that.

As a result, CBS had no choice but to let go of Sussman and ultimately cast Simon Helberg for the role of Howard.

"ABC made a very petty gesture because Kevin was maybe a recurring character on Ugly Betty—and we had been told they were writing the character out of the series.

However, when they found out we were interested in him in a regular role on a CBS show, they decided not to write the character out of the series. And then after Simon got the role of Wolowitz, ABC let Kevin go anyway," Chuck Lorre revealed in the book.

What's more, Sussman also added that his character was essentially not meant to continue beyond season 1, and he had already spoken with the showrunners about TBBT.

"I had gotten [the Ugly Betty producers'] blessing to do Big Bang. But business affairs at ABC dropped the ball in terms of communicating what we needed in order to get me released from ABC," Sussman revealed.