Johnny Galecki Biography

John Mark "Johnny" Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne and Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

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 (deceased), was a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed in Belgium and also worked as a rehabilitation teacher. Galecki 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.

During an interview with New Zealand radio station ZM, Galecki recalled his childhood relationship with his mother. As a child, he was well known for making up long 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. One of his best known roles was as David Healy (first introduced as Kevin Healy) in the U.S. sitcom Roseanne. He also appeared in the 1995 music video for the Dave Matthews Band song "Satellite". Galecki was cast in the 1997 summer slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer and the 1998 dark comedy The Opposite of Sex. In the year 2000, Galecki reunited with Opposite of Sex director Don Roos, who cast him in Bounce.

Galecki continued his film streak with roles in Suicide Kings (1997) and brief bit parts in high-profile films such as Bean (1997) and a minor supporting part in Vanilla Sky (2001). Galecki played a young delinquent in A Family Torn Apart, a 1993 TV movie based on a true story about a serial killer. He was also in the 2003 film Bookies, a comedy thriller film written by Michael Bacall and directed by Mark Illsley. The story revolves around the lives of four college students. Galecki appeared as a golfer in a 2005 episode of My Name Is Earl entitled "Stole Beer from a Golfer".

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 sitcom Hope & Faith. In late 2006 and early 2007, Galecki starred in the Broadway play The Little Dog Laughed as a prostitute called Alex. 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 Theatre. The widely popular comedy by Douglas Carter Beane had a successful run at Second Stage and moved to the Cort Theatre. The play closed on February 18, 2007, with Galecki taking home a 2007 Theater World Award for his performance.

Galecki currently plays the role of Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which debuted September 24, 2007. He was originally asked to play the role of Sheldon Cooper, but he said he was better suited for the role of Leonard Hofstadter. Two of his former Roseanne cast members have appeared on the show. During his role as David Healy, Sara Gilbert played the role of his longtime girlfriend and later wife, Darlene Conner. She has appeared as Leslie Winkle, a colleague. Laurie Metcalf, formerly cast in the role of Roseanne's sister Jackie Harris has appeared as Mary Cooper, mother of Leonard's roommate, Sheldon. Galecki is a cellist, a talent which has been used on the show. As of August 2013, Galecki and his costars, Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parsons, each earn $325,000 an episode.

Galecki appeared briefly in the 2008 superhero comedy Hancock, alongside Will Smith and Jason Bateman. In July 2011, Galecki played a parody version of himself in three episodes of Entourage. He also appeared in the film In Time (2011) with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.

Personal life

He owns of land in Santa Margarita, California. There are vineyards on his property and also a log cabin. He is a vegetarian. While working on The Big Bang Theory, Galecki dated co-star Kaley Cuoco for two years. The two remain on good terms.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1987	Murder Ordained	Doug Rule
1988	A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon	Toby Reardon
1989	Prancer	Billy Quinn
1989	National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation	Russell "Rusty" Griswold
1990	Blind Faith	John Marshall
1990	In Defense of a Married Man	Eric
1991	Backfield in Motion	Tim Seavers
1993	A Family Torn Apart	Daniel Hannigan
1994	Without Consent	Marty
1996	Murder at My Door	Teddy McNair
1997	Bean	Stingo Wheelie
1997	Suicide Kings	Ira Reder
1997	I Know What You Did Last Summer	Max Neurick
1998	The Opposite of Sex	Jason Bock
2000	Playing Mona Lisa	Arthur
2000	Bounce	Seth
2001	Morgan's Ferry	Darcy
2001	Vanilla Sky	Peter Brown
2003	Bookies	Jude
2004	Chrystal	Barry
2004	White Like Me	Marcus	Short film
2005	Happy Endings	Miles	Uncredited
2007	Who You Know	David	Short film
2008	Hancock	Jeremy
2009	Table for Three	Ted
2011	In Time	Borel
2013	CBGB	Terry Ork

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Hardball	Male escort	Episode: "The Hunt for Honus Wagner"
1991	Blossom	Jason	Episode: "Sex, Lies and Teenagers"
1990"1991	American Dreamer	Danny Nash	17 episodes
1992	Billy	David MacGregor	13 episodes.
1993	Civil Wars	Student	Episode: "Split Ends"
1992"1997	Roseanne	Kevin / David Healy	92 episodes Nominated for four and winner of one Young Artist Award
2000	Batman Beyond	Knux	Voice Episode: "April Moon"
2000	The Norm Show	Dale Stockhouse	Episodes: "Norm vs. Youth: Part 1" and "Norm vs. Youth: Part 2"
2004	LAX	Leland Pressman	Episode: "Finnegan Again, Begin Again"
2005	My Name Is Earl	Scott	Episode: "Stole Beer from a Golfer"
2005	Hope & Faith	Jay	3 episodes
2006	American Dad!	Arnie	Episode: "Irregarding Steve"
2006"2007	My Boys	Trouty	3 episodes
2007"present	The Big Bang Theory	Leonard Hofstadter	Satellite Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated " Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2011) Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy (2011) Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2012"2013)
2009	Family Guy	Leonard Hofstadter	Voice Episode: "Business Guy"
2011	Entourage	Parody of himself	3 episodes

Music videos

Year	Artist	Song	Role
1995	Dave Matthews Band	"Satellite"