Summary
- Johnny Galecki's vision for Leonard almost didn't include glasses because of Jim Parsons' height.
- Galecki had to pop out the lenses of his glasses due to glare from the lights while looking up at Parsons.
- Galecki and Parsons bonded over wine and discovered their shared experiences, leading to a strong connection on and off-screen.
The show enjoyed major success. However, there were a couple of things some fans didn't know about behind the scenes. In the following, we're going to take a closer look at Johnny Galecki's reveal, and how working with Jim Parsons on The Big Bang Theory was problematic at first.
Galecki had a specific vision for Leonard, but that was almost nixed because of Jim Parsons' height.
We'll reveal what went down between the two, and how they were instantly able to connect behind the scenes. We'll also take a closer at Raj's wardrobe during the series, and the deeper meaning behind his many layers.
Johnny Galecki Revealed That Looking Up At Jim Parsons With His Glasses Caused A Glare In The Light During Filming
Right from the very start of rehearsals, Johnny Galecki was using glasses for Leonard on The Big Bang Theory. The actor refused to take them off as those behind the scenes thought he was only wearing them to read lines.
Galecki revealed, “We rehearsed the first episode for about a week and a half, and when we started to shoot, they said, ‘Well, you’re gonna take your glasses off, right?’ I said, ‘No, I want Leonard to wear glasses.’ They said, ‘Oh, we just thought you were wearing them as Johnny for rehearsal all week,’” said Galecki.“I quickly popped out the lenses and that’s the movie magic behind that."
However, if he was going to wear glasses, it had to be without any lenses given complications on set with Jim Parsons. Galecki revealed, "Jim is about three and a half feet taller than me, so looking up at him most of the time, I would get a glare from the lights. I just popped the lenses out."
It was an adjustment period for Galecki, who caused several reshoots at first, scratching his eyes through the frames during scenes.
Despite the bumpy process of shooting scenes with Jim Parsons at first due to his glasses, it was the opposite experience behind the scenes, as the stars immediately hit it off.
Johnny Galecki And Jim Parsons Immediately Hit It Off
Johnny Galecki made several connections during The Big Bang Theory. He even bonded with Melissa Rauch in a very unexpected way, finding her going through the trash, trying to find her meal ticket. That was a great icebreaker between the two.
As for his connection with Parsons, the two hit it off thanks to their "accelerated bonding" technique. Galecki reveals that got the two on the right track immediately.
"That often requires some wine to open up and be that honest with one another within, like, six hours. [Laughs] And so, we did."
He continues, "We had many bottles of wine and learned we had so many things in common, including that our grandfathers worked for the railroad, and both of our fathers had passed away at a very early age. I think we both passed out on my living room couch at one point. And then we woke up and went to the first reading. Apparently, it went well."
The connection was evident from the start, as the two shared obvious chemistry on television for 12 seasons of the series.
Kunal Nayyar Also Had A Deeper Reason Behind His Wardrobe For Raj
As far as the appearances were concerned on The Big Bang Theory, there were some deeper meanings behind the wardrobes. That was the case with Raj and his many layers throughout the seasons. According to Nayyar, the layers of clothing was a type of shield for the character.
"I think the discussion that happened with the costume designer is that because he's in a new country and because he's a genius at such a young age, the layers act as protection. It's like a shield for him. I also bet Raj thinks it looks good," Nayyar stated.
Kunal would also reveal that his character was based on a real person, a friend of the show's co-creator, Bill Prady.
"It is a recognized disease called selective mutism. The character is based on a friend of [co-creator] Bill Prady's who had this pathological shyness. He's since gotten married and had kids, so he's been cured of it."
Nayyar had a tough experience with the character at first, given that he couldn't contribute during scenes with women given his mutism. Thankfully, that changed along the way, and Raj was able to evolve during the 12 seasons of TBBT.
