‘TBBT’ Star Johnny Galecki Opens Up About ‘Emotional’ Return To ‘Roseanne’
Johnny Galecki says he was emotional about his return to the Roseanne set. The Big Bang Theory star, who reprised his role as David Healy for one episode of the Roseanne reboot, told People magazine fans have been asking him if he is going to return to the show for more episodes. But Galecki, who is committed to at least one more season of his CBS sitcom, says his Roseanne return “was much more of a personal experience.”
Johnny Galecki first joined Roseanne in 1992 as Darlene Conner’s (Sara Gilbert) boyfriend David during Season 4. Johnny remained on the show until the series finale in 1997. When he started filming for the Roseanne revival last October, it was the first time he reunited with the entire cast in 20 years.
“It was a wonderful week, it was an emotional week for all of us,” Johnny told People. “Not only because we were back together again, but also due to some of the content in that episode.”
The episode, “Darlene v. David,” featured Johnny Galecki’s character returning to his estranged wife and children after an extended absence. The episode set up Galecki for a possible return—David relocated to his family’s hometown after years of traveling the world—but the actor hasn’t confirmed that he will be back for the already-greenlit 11th season of Roseanne.
How 'Roseanne' addressed Johnny Galecki's brief return https://t.co/3HQ7VY47K0
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 18, 2018
While he felt right at home on the Roseanne set, Johnny also joked that it was a little creepy to learn “a character that’s been dormant for 21 years deep in the inner folds of your psyche can emerge.”
“Like, ‘Wow, I’m around these people and on the set again in this wardrobe, he’s still in there!'” Galecki said.
While Galecki went on to superstardom as physicist Leonard Hofstadter on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, the 43-year-old actor has never forgotten his roots as a teen star on Roseanne. Johnny has even credited his experience working on Roseanne for paving the way for his successful career today.
“That experience, from 16-21, I really consider my college in many ways,” Galecki told Variety in 2015. “To work with Roseanne, who’s from the stand-up world, and John (Goodman), who’s a terribly disciplined film actor, I had the best professors in the business.”
Johnny Galecki has remained close friends with his longtime co-star Sara Gilbert, whom he previously dated in real life. The two are so close that they even brainstormed over text to come up with a name for their TV son. They named the boy (played by Ames McNamara) Mark, after their late co-star Glenn Quinn’s character, Mark Healy.
Take a look at the video below to see Johnny Galecki on the Roseanne revival.
Roseanne airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
