The Magician Teller Plays Two Different Characters On The Big Bang Theory & Young Sheldon

Magician Penn Jillette and his mute partner Teller are some seriously funny tricksters. The two became famous for mixing magic and a special brand of sarcasm (mostly courtesy of Jillette, though Teller's side-eye is legendary). They've hosted several of their own television shows, including "Penn & Teller: Bulls...," in which they broke down a different kind of nonsense each episode, and "Fool Us," a long-running reality series in which they search for the best aspiring magicians. They've also appeared as guest stars here and there, and the (mostly) silent half of the pair showed up as the father of neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) on the hit Chuck Lorre sitcom "The Big Bang Theory." In fact, one of the rare times he's spoken on camera was in the "Big Bang" finale, at his daughter's wedding to Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). He only says two words: "thank you," to Kaley Cuoco's Penny, who stood up to his overbearing wife (played by Kathy Bates), but it's hilarious. 

The idea of Kathy Bates and Teller as Amy's parents is great, but there's just one tiny problem: Teller also plays a role in the "Big Bang Theory" spin-off series, "Young Sheldon," and it's not as Amy's dad. The franchise has always played it a tiny bit fast and loose with canon, but having the same guy play two different roles seems like a little much ... right?

In the season 5 finale of "Young Sheldon," "A Clogged Pore, a Little Spanish and the Future," Penn and Teller appear as the personifications of a pimple that crops up on teenage Sheldon's (Iain Armitage) face. Pimples are an annoying and slightly horrifying part of puberty, and in the episode Jillette plays "Acne" and Teller plays "Pus," which is kind of gross but honestly fits with their comedic stylings as a duo. It's a fun little cameo that never nods towards the fact that Teller also plays Amy's dad, and in an interview with TVLine, "Young Sheldon" co-creator Steve Molaro said that was the point. "It's a [different set of] characters here, and you know it's Penn and Teller," he explained. The idea, then, is that since they're technically imaginary and are sort of playing their magician personas as the harbingers of puberty, Teller as Pus is a totally different character than Teller as Mr. Fowler. 

Molaro has no problem playing fast and loose with "Big Bang Theory" canon, so a little actor double-dipping is really no big deal. In fact, actor Melissa Tang has played three totally different characters across "Young Sheldon," "The Big Bang Theory," and the "Young Sheldon" sequel, "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage," so Teller could always show up as a totally different person (or anthropomorphic personification) in the franchise before it's all said and done.