By Ashley Jude Collie |
Johnny Galecki Photo: Reposted from Mademan.com
When he removes his physicist character Leonard’s trademark thick-framed glasses and hoodie/jacket combo, actor Johnny Galecki, TV’s highest-paid geek at $1 million an episode, is a slightly edgier fellow.
The Chicago native left school at 14 to pursue a career in Hollywood and owns a log cabin on a vineyard north of Los Angeles. That’s where he rides his Harley when he’s not working on America’s no. 1 sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, which begins its eighth season this week (Mondays, 8/7c on CBS).
Galecki, 39, has earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his work on the series. As the new season begins, we asked him about scientists, the show and getting away.
“I’ve always felt Leonard and Sheldon are two halves of the same brain. As exasperating as Sheldon can be, I don’t know if either of them could really function as the best version of himself without the other.”
I researched the definition when we first started, and it’s really about being especially passionate about something, like I’m “geeking out” over the new Jon Krakauer book. It’s become part of the lexicon for being immersed in something you enjoy. The characters we play are into their science, math and their sci-fi. Personally, I’m still a huge Star Wars fan, which has such a wonderful mythology.
We hear you and Jim Parsons visited some UCLA science guys to get a feel for what they’re really like.
We hung out with the physicists, and there were a lot of opinions on tech choices. We walked away with a lot, trying to steal as much as we could, any sort of mannerism, to the shoes they wore. First and foremost was how much coffee they all drink! Second, they had a lot of stickers in the offices with a circle and line drawn through Apple. And we reported that back to the prop master on our set.