Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki is an American actor who was born in Belgium. He was best known, before his role as Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory, for his role as David Healy on the ‘90s sitcom Roseanne.
Galecki's first TV role was at the age of 12 in the 1987 miniseries Murder Ordained. He later made a guest appearance on Blossom, which starred his future TBBT co-star Mayim Bialik, and had a starring role in the short-lived comedy series American Dreamer.
In 1992, Johnny Galecki made his first appearance on Roseanne during the show's fourth season. He originally played a character named Kevin Healy, but the character was later renamed David. Galecki became a starring actor in the show as the boyfriend of Sara Gilbert's character, Darlene Conner. Galecki starred in the show from Roseanne's fifth season through the end of its original nine-season run in 1997. Galecki's Roseanne co-stars Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf both had recurring roles on The Big Bang Theory.
After the end of Roseanne, Galecki made guest appearances on several TV shows, including The Norm Show, My Name is Earl, and Hope & Faith.
Galecki played the role of Leonard in the original pilot of The Big Bang Theory for the 2006/07 season, which also starred Jim Parsons. Although The Big Bang Theory's producers initially considered him for the role of Sheldon, Galecki was personally drawn to the character of Leonard. He received nominations for both a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe award for his portrayal of Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory.
During The Big Bang Theory's run, Galecki made guest appearances as himself on Entourage and reprised his role as David Healy on Roseanne/The Conners.
Galecki's most memorable film role is as Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). His other film roles include Suicide Kings (1997), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), The Opposite of Sex (1998), Vanilla Sky (2001), and Hancock (2008).
Galecki made his theater debut at the age of seven in his native Chicago before moving to Los Angeles at a young age to pursue acting. Later, between the first and second pilot episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Galecki starred in the Broadway show The Little Dog Laughed. He received the Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut for his performance.
