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John Mark "Johnny" Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is a Belgian-born American actor best known for his role as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter in the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory since 2007 and as David Healy in the sitcom Roseanne from 1992 to 1997 and 2018. He also appeared in the films National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Suicide Kings (1997), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Bookies (2003), Hancock (2008), and In Time (2011).

Early Life[]

Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, to American parents of Polish, Irish, and Italian descent. His mother, Mary Lou (née Noon), was a mortgage consultant, and his father, Richard Galecki, was a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed in Belgium at the time and also worked as a rehabilitation teacher. He has a younger brother, Nick, whom he describes as a mechanical genius in the automotive industry and a younger sister, Allison. Galecki grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. He is currently an actor since 1987. During an interview with New_Zealand New radio station ZM, Galecki jokingly recalled his childhood relationship with his mother. As a child, he was well known for making up long, epic stories and tales. In such situations his mother used to make him play the "quiet game" where he had to see how long he could go without talking. He also recalled that despite being a loving mother, she was also very tough. One phrase she would lovingly use was, "I love you, now get out."

Career[]

Galecki made his acting debut in the 1987 CBS miniseries "Murder Ordained" with JoBeth Williams and future Roseanne co-star John Goodman. In 1989 Galecki portrayed Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

In 1991, Galecki guest starred with future co-star Mayim Bialik on her show Blossom, in the episode "Sex, Lies and Teenagers".

One of his best-known roles began in 1992 as David Healy (first introduced as Kevin Healy) in the U.S. sitcom Roseanne, the love interest of Sara Gilbert's Darlene Conner. Galecki was cast in the 1997 summer I Know What You Did Last Summer and the 1998 dark comedy The Opposite of Sex. In the year 2000, Galecki reunited with The Opposite of Sex director Don Roos, who cast him in Bounce.

Galecki continued his film streak with roles in Suicide Kings and brief bit parts in high-profile films such as Bean and a minor supporting part in Vanilla Sky. Galecki played a young delinquent in A Family Torn Apart, a TV movie based on a true story about a serial killer.

Galecki appeared in the first-season episode, "Stole Beer from a Golfer", of My Name is Earl as a golfer.

Sara

Sara and Johnny while on the "Roseanne" TV series together

He played a character named Trouty on TBS's sitcom My Boys. He also played the half-brother of the main characters, sisters Hope Shanowski and Faith Fairfield, in the TV sitcom Hope & Faith. In late 2006/early 2007, Galecki starred in the Broadway play The Little Dog Laughed as Alex, a male prostitute. In this role, he was required to do a full-frontal nude scene, the first of his acting career. "At its core, the play is about what we all sacrifice to be successful, whatever our careers or goals," he explains. Galecki originated the role earlier in 2006 at Second Stage Theater. The widely popular comedy by Douglas Carter Beane had a successful run at Second Stage and moved to the Cort Theater. The play closed on February 18, 2007, with Galecki taking home a 2007 Theater World Award for his performance.

Aws122

Johnny in "The Big Bang Theory".

Galecki currently plays the part of Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which debuted September 24, 2007. He works alongside two of his former Roseanne cast members, Sara Gilbert, who during his role as David Healy played the role of his longtime girlfriend and later his wife, Darlene Conner, as well as Laurie Metcalf, formerly cast as the role of Rosanne Barr's fictionalized character's sister Jackie. Both have since appeared as recurring characters. Galecki is a cellist and has played cello on the show. On December 1, 2017, Galecki filmed a guest appearance as his character for an episode of Roseanne, then the revival sitcom has canceled on May 29, 2018, after the racist Barr's ending Twitter.

Galecki appeared briefly in the 2008 superhero comedy Hancock, alongside Will Smith and Jason Bateman. He also appears in the music video for the Dave Matthews Band song "Satellite".

In July 2011, Galecki played himself on three episodes of Entourage.

In 2018, Galecki who recently an executive producer in CBS short-lived sitcom Living Biblically.

After rebooting the "Rosanne" show, Johnny Galecki guest-starred on one episode in April 2018 reprising David Healy, now Darlene's estranged husband. He plans on making more appearances after "The Big Bang Theory" ends.

Johnny Galecki at table

Johnny

Personal Life[]

Galecki owns 360 acres of land in Santa Margarita, California. There are vineyards and a log cabin on his property. He's also a vegetarian.

While working on The Big Bang Theory, Galecki dated co-star Kaley Cuoco for two years. They kept their relationship private til they broke up.

In February 2012, it was revealed that Galecki had been dating actress Kelli Garner since 2011. Their relationship ended in 2014.

From 2018 until 2020, Galecki dated Alaina Meyer, with whom he has a son.


Sheldon's Birthday Party Katey and Johnny

Two hundred episodes.

TogetAgain

Sara & Johnny on the short-lived Roseanne revival.


Trivia[]

  • Johnny Galecki was originally asked to take the part of Sheldon Cooper, but felt the role of Leonard suited his acting style better. The role of Sheldon was then taken by Jim Parsons.
  • His 2015-2017 contract could be worth a total of $90 million.
  • Both Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons's fathers died in car accidents. Galecki's father died sometime between April 30, 1975, and April 29 1976 when Galecki was 16 and Parsons's father died on April 29, 2001, when Parsons was 28.
  • Similar to how Johnny dated Sara Gilbert while they played boyfriend and girlfriend and eventual married couple, David and Darlene on Roseanne, Johnny have also dated Kaley Cuoco while they played boyfriend and girlfriend and eventual married couple, Leonard and Penny on The Big Bang Theory.
  • Johnny Galecki shares the same birthday as his former co-star, Kunal Nayyar (April 30th). The only difference is their birth years (Galecki - 1975, Nayyar - 1981).
  • Admits that 2018-2019 will probably be the last season of TBBT as does Kaley. On August 22, 2018, the series of TBBT season 12 is officially announced that it would be the last.

Gallery[]

External links[]

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Cast Regulars Johnny Galecki  ‧  Jim Parsons  ‧  Kaley Cuoco  ‧  Simon Helberg  ‧  Kunal Nayyar  ‧  Mayim Bialik  ‧  Melissa Rauch  ‧  Kevin Sussman  ‧  Laura Spencer  ‧  Sara Gilbert  ‧ 
Recurring/Minor Christine Baranski  ‧  Aarti Mann  ‧  John Ross Bowie  ‧  Casey Sander  ‧  Stephen Merchant  ‧  Sara Rue  ‧  Kara Luiz  ‧  Brian Thomas Smith  ‧  Margo Harshman  ‧  Alessandra Torresani  ‧  Matt Bennett  ‧  Keith Carradine  ‧  Laurie Metcalf  ‧  Judd Hirsch  ‧  Carol Ann Susi  ‧  Brian George  ‧  Alice Amter  ‧  Courtney Henggeler  ‧  June Squibb  ‧  Katey Sagal  ‧  Jack McBrayer  ‧  Dean Norris  ‧  Brian Posehn  ‧  Mark Harelik  ‧  Joshua Malina  ‧  Brian Patrick Wade  ‧  Kate Micucci  ‧  Regina King  ‧  Jerry O'Connell
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also as Cast The Big Bang Theory : Full cast & crew on IMDb
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