Why Johnny Galecki Almost Quit The Big Bang Theory After Season 4

During the fourth season of Chuck Lorre's hit CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," Johnny Galecki, who played Leonard Hofstadter throughout the entirety of the show, almost left the series entirely. It wasn't because of job dissatisfaction or another project, though; it was because of a very serious medical emergency. (Spoiler alert: Galecki did end up playing Leonard for all of the show's 12 seasons.)

In the book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series" by Jessica Radloff, Galecki recalls that in 2011, he earned his first-ever Emmy nomination for playing Leonard ... and also made a really scary discovery about his health while he was on vacation. "I was at my sister's house in Chicago and kept getting teary out of my right eye. I took allergy medicine and when I woke up, I was still teary, but this time I was also drooling and one side of my face was entirely drooping. I thought I had had a mini-stroke." 

Even as he and his sister rushed to the nearest hospital for help, Galecki was only thinking about the show ... and made an offer to Lorre, thinking that he'd just had an irreversible stroke. "My sister burst into tears, and as we were on our way to the hospital, I called Chuck and told him I was paralyzed on my right side," Galecki remembered. "I said, 'I'm going to help you recast my role, and I would love if you would also consider me for a staff writing position on the show.' And of course, Chuck calls all the best doctors in the world and looks into things and says, 'It sounds like you have Bell's palsy.'"

Even as Chuck Lorre rushed to consult medical professionals and help Johnny Galecki get to the bottom of his sudden health emergency, Galecki felt sure that his run as Leonard Hofstadter was over. Thankfully, he got news from the doctors that he did have Bell's palsy, which isn't permanent (and can be treated with physical therapy), and hadn't suffered from a debilitating stroke. 

"But I was really thinking my acting career was done," Galecki went on. "And later at the hospital after running tests, they confirmed it was Bell's palsy." Still, this created a new problem for Galecki that he had to handle — namely, how to keep filming "The Big Bang Theory" and any public appearances without revealing the diagnosis. "So, when the Emmy noms came out, I hadn't told my team I had Bell's palsy, but now I had to," he said. "I said, 'Half my face doesn't work, so if you could put the cameras on the left side of my face, that would be great. And I'll be carrying a bandana to wipe my tears away because my one eye won't blink.'"

"But it all worked out fine," Galecki said before noting that the Bell's palsy is, in fact, an ongoing issue (or at least, it was when Jessica Radloff wrote the book in 2022). "Still, to this day, when I get over-exhausted, I can feel some weakness on that side."

Amazingly, that wasn't the only time that Chuck Lorre — who is, it should be said, not a doctor — managed to give sound medical advice and assistance to one of his cast members. In September of 2010, Kaley Cuoco — who played Penny and was an avid horseback rider — was thrown from a horse which subsequently stepped on her leg, and as she was rushed to the hospital, Lorre was playing golf and had a very chance run-in.

"That was the darkest, most frightening time in all 12 years. Kaley could have lost her leg. It was a series of miracles that allowed us to get through that and for her to come out the other end of that healthy," Lorre said before explaining that, on the gold course, he ran into a renowned orthopedic surgeon named Dr. Steven Lombardo. "It was heaven-sent," Lorre recalled, saying that Dr. Lombardo even helped him transport Cuoco from a smaller hospital outside of Los Angeles (which was closer to the site of the accident). "I said, 'Steve, here's what's happening. I don't know what to do. Can you help me?' He got on the phone and arranged for an ambulance to take Kaley immediately to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Within an hour or two of that phone call, she was at Cedars in surgery with the best surgeons available to stop an infection because her leg was wide open.

"But it was an absolutely miraculous intervention that I ran into Dr. Steve on that golf course," Lorre said in the book. "Every time I see him, I say, 'Thank you! You saved Kaley! On a lesser level, you saved The Big Bang Theory!'" Apparently, if you're an actor on a Chuck Lorre show and you get hurt while you're not working, you're in very good hands.