Kaley Cuoco learned art of sex scenes with Game Of Thrones co-star in The Flight Attendant

She was a good girl on The Big Bang Theory, now Kaley Cuoco’s learning a thing or two about sex – and ping pong – in her new murder mystery series.

Eschewing her girl-next-door image, cultivated over 12 years of The Big Bang Theory – the sitcom that made her a star – Kaley Cuoco easily changes gear as the vodka-guzzling title character in new BINGE thriller, The Flight Attendant.

Playing up her own love of true crime, Cuoco’s character spends a torrid night with an attractive passenger (played by Game of Thrones’ Michiel Huisman); only to wake up with a giant hangover and a dead body by her side.

It’s what she does next that sends Cassie Bowden’s life into a tailspin, and why Cuoco clearly revelled in trampling on the memory of geeky Penny Hofstadter, to emerge as the ultimate party girl.

“I wasn’t looking to try to go so far from Big Bang,” she tells The BINGE Guide.

“I am so proud of that show and where I came from but there was something about this woman, Cassie, and this story that hit me inside my brain. I knew it would make for a fascinating series,” Cuoco says.

Shock … Cuoco plays an air hostess who has a one-night stand that goes wrong. Picture: Supplied/HBO

“She’s so flawed, with so many issues, yet so fantastic and so strong that it’s a real balance of emotions to play her. I knew it would challenge me and also be completely enjoyable.”

She was captivated by Cassie long ago, after reading Chris Bohjalian’s 2018 novel of the same name on which this adaptation is based.

With her Big Bang bucks bankrolling her next move, Cuoco snapped up the rights, with designs on doing double duty as executive producer and its star.

The outlandish subject matter clearly struck a chord, she explains.

“You would think that something this traumatic wouldn’t really happen, particularly considering how she deals with it; but I’ve watched so much Dateline and this type of thing really does happen … so the book was believable to me. Aside from that, I love murder mysteries and this really keeps you on your toes.”

On casting Huisman, who played Daario Naharis in HBO’s fantasy phenomenon, she gushes like a fan: “Oh my God, he is the dreamiest. We bonded over ping pong. He’s an internationally-ranked ping pong player and we had tables on each stage set-up so we could play in between setups.”

Sex crimes … Michiel Luisman and Kaley Cuoco star in a scene from The Flight Attendant, streaming on BINGE. Picture: Supplied/HBO

Her chemistry with the Dutch-born actor also makes for exciting play, though she was quite the novice when it came to small screen intimacy.

“I’d never done a sex scene before in my career,” she laughs, “and I said to him, ‘Have you ever done this before? I haven’t.’ And I think his answer was, ‘I’ve done it 37 times. It was this wild number, and he said, ‘You know I was on “Game of Thrones, right?’”

She laughs again, adding: “so, I was definitely the virgin. It was funny. At one point, I had to crawl on top of him and I was holding myself above and I wouldn’t sit down. Finally he says to me, ‘You know it looks like you’re hovering over a public toilet. You can touch me. You can sit down.’

“I was literally afraid to look,” she grimaces. “I didn’t want to touch and I really truly did not know what I was doing, but he was hilarious and we laughed about it for a long time.”

Presumably she was better equipped to play a frequent flyer, having travelled incessantly for work: “Well, now when I fly I stare at the stewards and the flight attendants and study what they’re doing, when they change their shoes, what their hair is like, all that stuff. So I am probably spying on them more than they are spying on me,” she chuckles. “I’m completely obsessed with all of them, their lifestyle, and how they act on the plane.”

Squad … Cuoco, front and centre, with the cast from The Big Bang Theory. Picture: Instagram/Norman Cook

Hopefully she hasn’t observed too many like Cassie Bowden, who goes from tipsy to wildly drunk through the course of the series.

“Oh, I was drunk the whole time while we were shooting,” Cuoco jokes. “That’s the best way to get really into the character.

Correcting the record, she says: “No that’s not true. I do like to drink, but playing drunk can be a hard sell to do in a believable way. It had to be real, yet kind of funny, yet sad, so there a lot of nuances there.”

As for Cuoco’s own alcoholic preferences, she admits to a fondness for “French wine. Actually, my husband [Karl Cook] and I have gotten into Bourbons lately, so I am a big Bourbon drinker now. He invented a drink called The Karl Fashioned … obviously a take on an Old Fashioned, so that would have to be my favourite cocktail right now.”

Cuoco, 34, married the 29-year-old equestrian son of billionaire Scott Cook two years ago. She was previously married to professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting for two years, ending the union in 2015.

Wild … Cuoco with husband Karl Cook at the Uluru Camel Farm. Picture: Instagram

Before that, she was also engaged to addiction specialist Josh Resnik and dated her Big Bang co-star Johnny Galecki for two years until 2009.

Admirably, they weathered a romance and a break-up while working together and remain on amicable terms.

Cuoco and Cook share a US$11.75 million estate in California’s upscale enclave, Hidden Hills (Kardashian country to reality TV fans).

Cuoco reveals: “actually, my father, who’s a real estate agent, found the house for us. And I have to tell you, it was not an easy job for dad. Karl and I did not agree for a while, so he was a wonderful mediator.

The couple moved into the home at the beginning of COVID, with Cuoco calling the forced quarantine “a blessing.”

“Having that time together, which we really never had, has been a gift for us. It was a blessing that we’ve been able to spend a lot of quality time together.”

They also share the 40-acre property with horses, goats, rabbits and seven dogs.

“My animals are a huge deal to me,” she says. “They are my sanctuary. When I’m with them, I feel grounded.”

Speaking with Cuoco via Zoom from the beautiful abode, it’s no wonder she’s all smiles.

“I have everything I could’ve ever wanted. I’m married to the love of my life. It was definitely meant to be and he came into my life at the right time and vice versa.”

She adds, with a smile: “I have this wonderful career and I feel very grateful for everything. ”

* The Flight Attendant, streaming from Thursday, November 26 on BINGE.