Best known for his portrayal of Howard Wolowitz in ‘The Big Bang Theory’, many fans say Simon Helberg bears a striking resemblance to another great comedic actor.
For the last few years, The Big Bang star’s fans have been remarking on the likeness between the actor and comedy great, Gene Wilder.
With Helberg appearing in more movies since The Big Bang Theory ended in 2021, they say the similarities between the two are becoming more marked, and they’ve even been wondering whether the actors are related.
Who Was Gene Wilder?
Wilder was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He first became interested in acting when he was eight, putting his comedy talent to good use. When his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, her doctor instructed the young boy to "try and make her laugh.”
Given his talent for being funny, it’s surprising that Wilder started out in a Shakespearian company, and became a fencing champion, before moving into comedy.
He went on to become known for the zaniness he brought to roles like Willy Wonka in the screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
He’s also famous for his partnership with his great comedy collaborator, Mel Brooks. Together they co-wrote projects like Young Frankenstein in which Wilder played a modern-day neurophysiologist, tormented by the memory of his notorious grandfather.
It was a comedy coup, and Wilder went on to success in films like Blazing Saddles, Stir Crazy and Start The Revolution Without Me.
Wilder was known for improvising in scenes and tricking his fellow cast members. He went on to become one of the era's comedy greats,
Simon Helberg Grew Up In Show Business
The Big Bang Theory star was born in Los Angeles in 1980. His mother was a casting director, and his father was an actor. Although initially planning to focus on Karate as a career, he eventually moved into acting.
Helberg almost didn’t audition for Big Bang, because he was already contracted to another show, but plans changed, and he went on to create a character fans love.
He's also impressed cinema critics with his performance in the 2016 film Florence Foster Jenkins, in which he played the role of Cosme McMoon, the pianist for the terrible soprano, played by Meryl Streep. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
Are Simon Helberg And Gene Wilder Related?
Though fans think the two bear a striking resemblance to one another, it doesn't appear that Simon Helberg is related to Gene Wilder. It was the 2015 film, We'll Never Have Paris that made critics start to notice a resemblance between the actor and the late Gene Wilder.
Written by Helberg and his wife Jocelyn Towne, the storyline followed real events in the couple’s lives, which nearly saw them splitting up.
Many commented on how the Big Bang star evinced a Gene Wilder feeling in his portrayal of Quinn, through 'a puppy-doggish bewilderment at the way things spin out of control.'
The Guardian film critic wrote: "Helberg has made a character-actor career of playing sad sacks and self-deprecating beta-males, such as Howard Wolowitz in the ensemble of his hit sitcom. And in Paris, he evinces a sort of Gene Wilder vibe even at his most hapless, making you care about the poor schmo.”
In another famous comedy film, The Producers (1967), Gene Wilder played Leo Bloom, a nerdy little accountant. Wilder created a character seething and wincing and gibbering with nerves and excitement.
Looking back at his performance, critics believe I think Helberg's nervy pianist in Florence Foster Jenkins took a little from Wilder’s Leo Bloom.
Fans say it’s interesting that Helberg’s son’s name also connects the two actors: His name is Wilder Towne Helberg.
Wilder took his stage name from the writer of Our Town, Thornton Wilder. He liked "Gene" because as a boy, he was impressed by a distant relative, a World War 2 bomber navigator who was "handsome and looked great in his leather flight jacket".
Fans Say Helberg Would Be Perfect In A Wilder Biopic
Biopics are big news. Recently, the story of Elvis's life has been making waves.
Gene Wilder died in 2016 at the age of 83. It’s inevitable that fans are thinking there might be a biopic in the works, and they want Helberg to star in it.
They’ve taken to social media to post their opinions.
On Moviechat, one post reads: “Does anyone else think he is hauntingly like a young Gene Wilder? I think he looks like him, talks like him, shares his mannerisms, etc. If they ever wanted to do a biopic of Gene Wilder, Simon should definitely play him."
Another agreed, "Wow, I thought I was the only one who sees this. His actions and voice reminds me so much of Gene Wilder. If they ever do a Biopic of Gene he would be perfect.”
A different fan posted, “Same here! Love the resemblance both in appearance and mannerisms.”