Playing Leonard Hofstadter on “The Big Bang Theory” was undeniably a career-defining moment for Johnny Galecki. Perhaps the least obliviously nerdy of the series’ endearingly awkward core group of scientists, Leonard offered some sense of grounding to his socially oblivious friends’ escapades.
While it’s hard to imagine anyone else bringing Leonard Hofstadter to life now, Galecki was far from the only star in consideration for the role. In fact, the actor wasn’t even initially approached for the role of Leonard. Originally, the creators of “The Big Bang Theory” had Galecki in mind for Sheldon, but the opportunity to explore a love story through the marginally less nerdy character of Leonard drew Galecki to that character instead. In short, had he not asked to audition for Leonard over Sheldon, Galecki’s most iconic role could have ended up going elsewhere.
But even before Galecki auditioned for the role of Leonard, there were other actors vying for the part, including John Ross Bowie. And though he was unsuccessful, he was later cast in another recurring role on the long-running sitcom.
The Big Bang Theory’s Barry Kripke was almost Leonard Hofstadter
“The Big Bang Theory” fans know Bowie as Barry Kripke, a plasma physicist working at Caltech who was a colleague to Leonard and Sheldon — and was Sheldon’s frequent rival. Barry was introduced in the Season 2 episode “The Killer Robot Instability” and became a recurring character, his final appearance coming in the series’ penultimate episode. And, as mentioned earlier, before Bowie was cast as Sheldon’s nemesis, he auditioned to play Sheldon’s best friend.
Speaking to The Spectrum in 2017, Bowie revealed that he had initially been one of countless actors going up for the role of Leonard Hofstadter. Ultimately, though, he was unsurprised that the role went to Galecki. “They were seeing pretty much every nerd in LA for the two main roles and I actually read for the part of Leonard,” Bowie recalled. “When I found out [Johnny] Galecki got it, I was uncharacteristically not resentful! I didn’t know him but was familiar with his work and felt he was a good match for the role.”
Bowie was eventually invited back for another audition when “The Big Bang Theory” was searching for a recurring nemesis for Sheldon. “Initially, I played the character as an alfa [sic] nerd bully,” he said, “but Chuck and Bill thought he should have some vulnerability, so Chuck suggested a speech impediment.” The end result was Barry’s rhotacism, which the actor referred to as his “Elmer Fudd voice.”