10 Mar 2016
Johnny Galecki in ‘The Master Cleanse’ Image: EW
Johnny Galecki is best known as Leonard on The Big Bang Theory, but after 10 seasons on the CBS sitcom, he wanted more from his stable career as a “hired gun” actor. Sifting through various projects in search of the right one to produce, the 40-year-old ultimately discovered The Master Cleanse, a horror/drama/comedy project from first-time filmmaker Bobby Miller.
The Master Cleanse delves into creature feature territory, with Galecki playing a lonely man who attends a spiritual retreat that promises to cleanse and purify his life, but ends up literally releasing his inner demons. Ahead of the film’s SXSW world premiere on March 13, EW has an exclusive, creepy clip from The Master Cleanse, above, and an interview with the Emmy-nominated actor.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You’ve had a very diverse career, from Christmas Vacation toRoseanne and The Big Bang Theory. With The Master Cleanse, were you looking for something strange to counteract the tone of the roles people might associate with you?
JOHNNY GALECKI: When I first came aboard The Master Cleanse, purely as a producer, the writer-director, Bobby Miller, had another actor in mind. I gave him fair warning that if, for whatever reason, there might be a scheduling conflict with this actor, that I was not going to play his lead role. I had no interest in wearing both hats. There was a scheduling conflict with the initial actor, and everyone just ignored my cardinal rule. [Laughs.] [Bobby] called me and said, “Well, you have a wardrobe fitting tomorrow morning!” So, it was not the premeditation of playing the role whatsoever. I was as thrilled as I was terrified to take on those reins, but it wasn’t by design.
I hesitate, then, to call it an accident that you also starred in this film, but…
Feel free to call it an accident! It very much was. I endeavor to be a creative producer, and so a lot of what I had to contribute fortunately happened before we got to shooting. Being a producer was a bit of a distraction from the acting and some days vice versa.
Trailer Courtesy of Bobby Miller:
Still, at least tonally, this is a very different project for you. How do you, as an actor, prepare to make the jump from a mainstream comedy series like The Big Bang Theory to a low-budget indie movie?
I must admit it’s a welcome change. As much as I love The Big Bang Theory and playing Leonard 200-some episodes in, I think playing a departure from that character only serves that character once you return to him. The actors that I admire, that’s always been a part of their careers, that sense of unpredictability and diversity. If you liken it to a musician that’s been playing the same type of music for nine years, you jump at the chance to play in some sort of different genre. It’s much more exciting or liberating than it is even scary or challenging. But, goodness, I’ve been lonely before. That’s really the number one word to describe [my character] Paul Berger in The Master Cleanse. The poor guy is searingly lonely, and I think that’s universally relatable; I had plenty to pull from. The difference, and one of the things I really liked about the character, is that he’s not really aware of that. I’d like to think that I’m pretty self-aware; at least I try to be. [Laughs.] I can’t imagine anyone who would say differently. In Paul’s case, one of the things I loved about him is that he’s kind of emotionally arrested at this traumatic point from a previous relationship, and it’s kind of analogous to the slowly boiling frog. His life kind of unravels so slowly that he doesn’t even realize it’s in freaking shambles, and that’s fun to play.
How do you think your experience as an actor informed your work as a producer on The Master Cleanse? Were you more in step with certain aspects of production or was this a learning experience for you as well?
You can never predict how an audience is going to respond. But with 300-plus live studio audience episodes under my belt and dozens of theater productions in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, I mighthave a little bit — and please use italics when I say “might” — have a little bit more of an inkling than some other folks in the business of how an audience might react.