Why Raj Koothrappali Underwent A Style Transformation On The Big Bang Theory

Let’s not forget that, throughout “The Big Bang Theory,” Kunal Nayyar does, as Raj Koothrappali, get to dress up in some pretty wild outfits during the show’s Halloween episodes. In season 3’s “The Wheaton Recurrence,” the whole gang, including Howard, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), are dressed up as superheroes, with Raj donning a latex Catwoman outfit. So what did he have to say about that specific ‘fit while speaking to Jessica Radloff for her book?

“F***,” Nayyar began, laughing, before making a surprising admission. “But I actually enjoyed dressing up as Catwoman! All that leather spandex was empowering … brought out my inner sex goddess, and I loved it! I loved it a little too much. It may have gone missing on a couple of weekends. But I really enjoyed wearing that costume.”

In another Halloween episode, Raj is stuck dressing up as an extremely cartoonish (and comic-book accurate) version of Aquaman, years before Jason Momoa gave the superhero a new look — and that one, Nayyar hated for a specific and understandable reason. “The most uncomfortable was the Aquaman costume because of the horse. I couldn’t sit down or go to the bathroom because then you’d have to take off the horse and it would be this whole thing. So I had to hold it all night, and it was a long Halloween shoot.”

Finally, Nayyar weighed in on the season 6 episode “The Monster Isolation,” which features Kate Micucci as Raj’s on-again, off-again paramour Lucy … and sees the two split up. After the breakup, Raj soothes himself with an elaborate meal, and as Nayyar told Radloff, filming that sequence was really embarrassing. 

“The most humbling thing that I probably ever had to wear was when I broke up with Lucy and I’m eating lobster half naked,” Nayyar said, referencing an “outfit” of just a plastic bib and underpants. “I was wearing three or four pairs of underwear to really push up the gut, because we had to make him look like he had completely let go. So that was very humbling to watch with lobster on my chest hair.”

To see all of Raj’s “best” looks, stream “The Big Bang Theory” on Max now.