Mayim Bialik Discusses ‘Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory’ Documentary (Exclusive)

According to Mayim Bialik, Blossom, the NBC sitcom she starred in from 1990 to 1995, was probably one of the many TV shows that filmmaker Justin Johnson and his four siblings were not permitted to watch while growing up.

“They were a family with a lot of rules about what they were allowed to watch,” Bialik tells PEOPLE. “I think they weren’t allowed to watch Blossom because we dealt with topics like safe sex.”

Decades later, the 48-year-old actress is now an executive producer on Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory, Johnson’s new documentary about the semi-secret business his conservative Christian parents have been running out of their home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, creating custom prosthetic nipples for breast cancer survivors.

“It’s a rom-com about nipples, is what we kind of jokingly call it,” Bialik says.

Centered on Johnson’s deeply religious parents — Brian, a former computer engineer and part-time teacher with an entrepreneurial spirit, and Randi, a former hippie and nurse — the film lovingly tracks the couple’s love story through Randi’s 2007 breast cancer diagnosis. Following a unilateral mastectomy and subsequent breast reconstruction, they were shocked by the limited options for nipple reconstruction.

“In many cases, if the nipple can’t be spared — which it often cannot be — a lot of times women are just told, ‘At least you’re alive. Go on your merry way,’ ” Bialik explains. “Of course, there’s gratitude in surviving breast cancer. But it’s also not too much to ask that you feel a sense of cohesion and dignity in your body, and attractiveness.”

Faced with that challenge, Brian developed an innovative technique to create highly individualized prosthetic nipples, which not only restored Randi’s sense of self but also grew into a thriving business.

“It really is a mom-and-pop business, and the one-on-one care they provide is something you also learn about in the film. It means a lot to them,” Bialik notes. Some of the most moving moments in the film come from interviews with women whose lives have been transformed by the Johnsons’ products.

After operating under the radar for years, Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory serves as a "coming out" story for Brian and Randi. Their children and local community members, including their pastor, learn about and discuss their unique business, sometimes coming to terms with it in the process.

“It was exciting to see people’s minds broaden because of this,” Bialik says of the film. “I’d like to believe that change happens this way. It happens incrementally.”

Bialik, who earned a doctorate in neuroscience in 2007 and is a certified lactation consultant, says Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory exemplifies the kind of project she wants to engage in, both as an actress and through her production company, Sad Clown Productions.

“I’m interested in telling stories that often aren’t told, or that aren’t told the way we’re telling them,” she explains. “I believe in surpassing political, religious, or social norms to find what unites us. I love humanity, and I think this story highlights an often unseen aspect of the human experience.”

As a person of faith, Bialik was also drawn to Justin Johnson’s story of distancing himself from his conservative family, only to find common ground with them later in life.

“That’s also part of the story: how he could have been the black sheep of the family when he was exploring his independence. Understanding his family on a deeper level allowed them to understand him more,” she says. “Even though he remains different from his parents and doesn’t consider himself part of the faith, there are still things that unite them.”

Fans of Bialik’s Emmy-nominated role on The Big Bang Theory might notice a resemblance between her character Amy Farrah Fowler and Jim Parsons’s Sheldon Cooper to Randi and Brian Johnson.

“Yes, Brian’s got a bit of a Sheldon vibe,” Bialik agrees. “That did appeal to me. I’ve always been drawn to unusual and interesting people who do things differently.”

Bialik adds, “I’ve thought about how we have this character in the documentary who really does things very, very differently. He thinks, socializes differently, and some have said they think they hear him speak more in this film than in 50 years of friendship. There’s something sweet about people who do things differently and love deeply.”

Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory begins a limited theatrical run on Sept. 6 before arriving on VOD on Sept. 10.

Source: PEOPLE