Highlights
- Johnny Galecki considered quitting acting before being cast in The Big Bang Theory, but luckily received a call from Chuck Lorre that changed his career trajectory.
- Since The Big Bang Theory ended, Galecki hasn't been as active in acting, appearing in a few movies and a revival and spin-off of Roseanne.
- Galecki has moved out of Hollywood and sold his mansion, but it's uncertain if he plans to retire from acting or if we'll see him in future projects.
Johnny Galecki has been acting since the late 80s and early 90s. Although he’s appeared in popular movies and shows such as Rosseane and I Know What You Did Last Summer, this actor is best known for playing Leonard Hofstadter on the CBS hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
Given that we haven’t seen much of him since The Big Bang Theory came to an end, fans can’t help but wonder what happened to Johnny Galecki. Did he retire from Hollywood, or will he be appearing in any new projects in the future? Keep reading to learn the answers to these questions!
Johnny Galecki Considered Quitting Acting Before He Was Offered to Star In The Big Bang Theory
Before The Big Bang Theory, Johnny Galecki was a rather successful child actor. His first professional gig was a Chicago production of Fiddler on the Roof, and after this, he began appearing in many more plays at local theaters. By age 11, Galecki was one of the biggest child actors in the Chicago theater scene and had even received a Joseph Jefferson Citation nomination for his work.
When he was only 12, Galecki made his TV acting debut in the CBS miniseries Murder Ordained (1987). Two years later, he appeared in the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. During the early 90s, he also appeared in TV shows such as American Dreamer, Billy, and Blossom, where he had to kiss his future TBBT co-star Mayim Bialik. However, Galecki didn’t get his big break until he was cast as a series regular in the hit show Roseanne, where he worked closely with his future TBBT co-star Sara Gilbert.
After the success of Roseanne, Galecki didn’t want to star in another sitcom. In fact, he considered quitting acting for good, as he later revealed in an episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan.
In the mid-2000s, Galecki took a break from acting to travel, without thinking about how it would affect his career. “I took six months or a year off just to road trip and whatnot, not realizing that you grow cold fast in this business,” Galecki told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. “After that time off, I came back and I didn’t have the opportunities that I thought would still be waiting for me.”
During that time, Galecki couldn’t find any steady work, so he seriously considered quitting Hollywood altogether. “I thought, ‘Okay, well, I was a child actor and that’s gone away.’ That’s fine; I was at peace with that. But what’s next?” He even went to school to become a plumber. Luckily, before he completely changed careers, he got a call from Chuck Lorre to star in his new sitcom: The Big Bang Theory. And the rest is history.
Johnny Galecki Hasn’t Done Much Since The Big Bang Theory Ended
Unlike some of his The Big Bang Theory co-stars, Johnny Galecki hasn’t done much since the show came to an end. According to his IMDb profile page, the actor appeared in several movies while still working on TBBT, including Hancock (2009), In Time (2011) alongside Justin Timberlake, and Rings (2017). Other than that, Galecki appeared in the revival of Roseanne and in four episodes of The Conner, a spin-off series of Roseanne, between 2018 and 2019.
Despite having the chance to be in a new sitcom after The Big Bang Theory ended, Galecki admitted that he had no intention of becoming a series regular on The Conners. “I think I need a little bit of space from being a series regular again. [It’s] a very fortunate problem to have. I certainly hope to visit as much as possible. That’s kind of my second home.”
Given that The Conners was Galecki’s last acting gig, it seems that the actor has no need to continue working. After all, Galecki amassed a gigantic net worth during his time in The Big Bang Theory and probably has enough money to live a lavish life without having to worry about money anymore.
Johnny Galecki Moved Out of Hollywood, But Does This Mean He’s Quit Acting for Good?
In 2022, Johnny Galecki sold his Hollywood Hills mansion for $11.1 million. This Spanish-style villa had been owned by celebrities such as Ben Stiller and Jason Statham before Galecki purchased it in 2015. Now, Galecki is thought to live in Nashville, Tennessee.
Surprisingly, this is not the first time the Big Bang Theory star has moved far from Hollywood. Back in 2014, Galecki sold his home in L.A. to buy a ranch in Santa Margarita, California, which was ultimately destroyed in the 2017 wildfires.
Although Galecki has moved off the map, the actor hasn’t opened up about whether he will be retiring from Hollywood anytime soon. While it’s true that he hasn’t appeared in any new projects in a while, chances are this is not the last we’ll be seeing of the Big Bang Theory star.
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