What Happened To Brian Thomas Smith After The Big Bang Theory?
Brian Thomas Smith gained prominence as an actor by playing the character Zack Johnson in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory between 2010 and 2019. Zack was known mostly as a love interest for main character Penny, who was in turn portrayed by Kaley Cuoco.
The pair met while the latter was working at the restaurant known as the Cheesecake Factory, where Penny used to work. Zack’s father owned a menu printing company that served this restaurant.
The Big Bang Theory was known for having some very prominent names appear as guest stars, with the likes of Stephen Hawking, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Elon Musk and even Bill Gates among those who featured in temporary capacities. Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton was another one who got the chance to play a secondary character in the sitcom — as a fictionalized version of himself.
While the likes of Gates and Musk only got to appear briefly on the show, Wheaton and Smith’s roles were a little more extended. Smith particularly played the part of Zack for a total of 11 episodes, between Season 3 and the final Season 12 in 2019.
Who Was Brian Thomas Smith Before The Big Bang Theory?
Brian Thomas Smith started out his acting, writing and comedy career in the early 2000s. In the Season 8 episode of Friends titled The One With the Creepy Holiday Card, he featured in an uncredited cameo role as a strip club patron. This was back in December 2001, in what was his very first professional experience on mainstream television.
In 2005, Smith joined up with his younger brother Greg to become contestants in Season 7 of CBS’ reality show competition The Amazing Race. The two siblings competed admirably, making it past the halfway mark of the season before being eventually eliminated sixth in Khwai, Botswana.
Smith returned to the world of sitcoms in 2006, when he made a cameo — credited this time — in episode 16 of the third season of Two and a Half Men, also on CBS. He appeared as a character simply known as Emmett.
In the same year that Smith made his Big Bang debut, he also starred in eight episodes of A Good Knight’s Quest and two of The Indies.
What Happened To Brian Thomas Smith After The Big Bang Theory?
Brian Thomas Smith’s final Big Bang cameo was in the 15th episode of the final season, which was titled The Donation Oscillation. The episode aired on February 7, 2019. In September that year, the actor returned to television for the very first time, as a character known as Ed in The Neighborhood, yet another CBS sitcom.
In March 2020, Smith played a character called Andrew Reynolds in an episode of the Fox procedural drama series 9-1-1: Lone Star. The series is a spin-off of the popular show 9-1-1. It premiered on the network in January 2020, and follows the lives of first responders in Austin, Texas.
The Missouri-born actor featured in Episode 9 of Season 1 of the show, which went by the title Awakening. Still in 2020, Smith appeared in the comedy film Babysplitters by Sam Friedlander.
Smith continued acting mostly on TV, however, with further roles in the shows NCIS and The Really Loud House .
For the former, he portrayed a fantasy football dad in the episode Daddy Issues. In the latter, he played a character called Mr. Bolhofner.
Brian Thomas Smith Also Enjoyed A Recurring Role In United States Of Al
The biggest gig that Brian Thomas Smith has taken on since his time in The Big Bang Theory is a recurring role in United States of Al. Still another show to fall under the “CBS sitcom category,” United States of Al was created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari, and premiered on the network in April 2021.
The show starred Adhir Kalyan as Awalmir “Al” Karimi, an Afghan interpreter who comes to live with his Marine combat veteran friend, Riley Dugan, played by Parker Young. Other cast members included Dean Norris as Art, Riley's father, and Elizabeth Alderfer as Lizzie, Riley's sister.
The Young and the Restless’ Kelli Goss played Vanessa, Riley's estranged wife and the mother of their daughter. The character portrayed by Smith was Freddy, Vanessa's boyfriend from Canada. Big Bang creator Chuck Lorre served as executive producer on the show.
United States of Al received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised its comedic timing and performances from the cast, while others criticized its stereotypical representation of Afghan culture, and lack of depth in its portrayal of veterans’ issues.
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