NOW we know what Darlene saw in David.
Johnny Galecki – best known as David, the sweet, befuddled boyfriend with the Eraser head hair from TV’s “Roseanne” – makes his New York stage debut tonight.
As the young street hustler in Douglas Carter Beane’s black comedy “The Little Dog Laughed,” at off-Broadway’s Second Stage Theater, the 30-year-old actor has a brief but impressive nude scene.
“I didn’t know if it would be exciting and liberating, or terrifying and I’d have a panic attack,” Galecki confesses.
“After the first time, I took a second to take some emotional inventory – and I really felt nothing about it whatsoever.
“It’s not a big deal.”
Between cigarettes the other day – his Brillo-like hair gelled into submission, his grin as crooked as ever – Galecki seemed as sweet and as serious as he does on-screen.
Born in Belgium, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Air Force, he grew up in Chicago – a place, he says, where “everybody has a nickname.” His parents didn’t know what to make of his early announcement that he wanted to act – he was 5 at the time – but dutifully took him to auditions at a community theater, where Johnny nailed his first role at age 7.
“My brother does auto-body work, my sister’s an aesthetician, and Johnny’s the guy who does plays,” he says, ruefully.
He’s been working pretty much ever since – playing Rusty in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” before landing the role of Darlene’s boyfriend David in “Roseanne,” season three, fast becoming an audience favorite.
It wasn’t until after the show ended that he became close to Laurie Metcalf, who played Roseanne’s wacky sister, Jackie. Together, they’ve performed at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater.
It’s that “scruffy street quality,” as “Little Dog” director Scott Ellis calls it, that helped Galecki snag the role of Alex, a hustler with a heart of gold.
“I saw many, many actors for this role, and Johnny’s great,” Ellis says.
“It’s what you want with every actor – he listens, he’ll try, he’ll ask questions, and he has a nice sense of humor.”
At home in Los Angeles (“the place where I pack and unpack again”), Galecki tried to get a handle on what it’s like to be Alex, the hustler who falls in love with a closeted gay film star.
But Alex – a healthy and sober boarding-school graduate who never spent a night on the street – was nothing like the hustlers Galecki met.
“Most of the guys I talked to were young and emaciated and driven by their addictions,” he says.
“I didn’t learn a whole lot from those guys – but they were great kids, and a couple of them and I got close.
“They had a going-away party for me before I left for New York.”
He laughs. “I had to pay for it, but it was a sweet gesture!”