| Johnny Galecki | |
|---|---|
Johnny Galecki, July 2008 |
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| Born | John Mark Galecki April 30, 1975 Bree, Belgium |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
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, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
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Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, to American parents of Polish, Irish, and Italian descent.[1] 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 and also worked as a rehabilitation teacher.[2] He has a younger brother, Nick, and a younger sister, Allison.[3] Galecki moved to Oak Park, Illinois, with his family when he was three years old.
During an interview with New Zealand 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."[4]
Galecki made his acting debut in the 1987 CBS miniseries Murder Ordained with JoBeth Williams and future Roseanne co-star John Goodman. His best known role was as David Healy (first introduced as Kevin Healy) in the U.S. sitcom Roseanne. 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 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 a first-season episode of My Name Is Earl as a golfer. Without his knowledge, Earl and Randy improve his golf score by making it appear that he got numerous holes-in-one, taking advantage of a custom that a player scoring a hole-in-one must buy a round of drinks. His obsession with improving his golf game without Earl and Randy's assistance destroys his life — he loses his job and girlfriend and is forced to live in his car.
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.[5] 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 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 Roseanne 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.
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.
Galecki was involved in a short relationship with his Roseanne co-star Sara Gilbert in his teenage years and they have remained close friends since the show.[6][7] He also secretly dated his The Big Bang Theory co-star Kaley Cuoco for two years, though they did not reveal their relationship publicly until after it ended, as Cuoco revealed to the CBS newsmagazine Watch!.[8]
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Murder Ordained | Doug Rule | TV movie |
| 1988 | A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon | Toby Reardon | |
| 1989 | Prancer | Billy Quinn | |
| National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation | Russell 'Rusty' Griswold | ||
| 1990 | Blind Faith | John Marshall | TV movie |
| In Defense of a Married Man | Eric | TV movie | |
| 1991 | Backfield in Motion | Tim Seavers | TV movie |
| 1993 | A Family Torn Apart | Daniel Hannigan | TV movie |
| 1994 | Without Consent | Marty | TV movie |
| 1996 | Murder at My Door | Teddy McNair | TV movie |
| 1997 | Bean | Stingo Wheelie | |
| Suicide Kings | Ira Reder | ||
| I Know What You Did Last Summer | Max Neurick | ||
| 1998 | The Opposite of Sex | Jason Bock | |
| 2000 | Playing Mona Lisa | Arthur | |
| Bounce | Seth | ||
| 2001 | Morgan's Ferry | Darcy | |
| Vanilla Sky | Peter Brown | ||
| 2003 | Bookies | Jude | |
| 2004 | Chrystal | Barry | |
| White Like Me | Marcus | Short film | |
| 2005 | Happy Endings | Miles | Uncredited role |
| 2007 | Who You Know | David | Short film |
| 2008 | Hancock | Jeremy | Cameo Role |
| 2009 | Table for Three | Ted | Direct-to-video release |
| 2011 | In Time | Borel |
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Hardball | Male Escort #1 | 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 accused of cheating | 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" |
| The Norm Show | Dale Stockhouse | Episode: "Norm vs. Youth: Part 1" Episode: "Norm vs. Youth: Part 2" |
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| 2004 | LAX | Leland Pressman | Episode: "Finnegan Again, Begin Again" |
| 2005 | My Name Is Earl | Scott | Episode: "Stole Beer from a Golfer" |
| Hope & Faith | Jay | Episode: "Blood Is Thicker Than Daughter" Episode: "The Restaurant" Episode: "Jay Date" |
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| 2006 | American Dad! | Arnie | Episode: "Irregarding Steve" |
| 2006–2007 | My Boys | Trouty | Episode: "Clubhouse Poison" Episode: "Take One for the Team" Episode: "Ethics" |
| 2007–present | The Big Bang Theory | Leonard Hofstadter | Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series[9] Pending - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy |
| 2009 | Family Guy | Leonard Hofstadter | Episode: "Business Guy" |
| 2011 | Entourage | Himself | Recurring Guest Star |