Every The Big Bang Theory Actor Originally From Roseanne

Here’s every actor who appeared on The Big Bang Theory after first appearing on classic sitcom Roseanne. On the surface, it might seem odd for a show like The Big Bang Theory to have much connection to Roseanne. After all, they’re from different eras and have almost nothing in common when it comes to plot or characters, outside of being multi-camera sitcoms. However, Big Bang Theory and Roseanne do actually connect behind the scenes, through Chuck Lorre.

Love his work or hate it, Lorre is one of the most prolific sitcom creators of all time, churning out a large number of long-running hits. Sometimes he creates these shows solo or in collaboration with someone else, but almost all of them have gotten multiple seasons. The Big Bang Theory is probably his biggest success story to date, but Two and a Half Men – which possibly shares a universe with Big Bang Theory – is also right up there, as both ran for 12 seasons. Lorre also counts Mom, Dharma and Greg, and Grace Under Fire among his many creations.

Before Lorre created shows though, he cut his teeth working as a writer/producer on Roseanne. Interestingly, Lorre ended up fired from the show due to feuding with its demanding star Roseanne Barr, but he clearly has fond memories of the actors he met, as several of them ended up working on Big Bang Theory years later.

Johnny Galecki

The most prominent instance of actor crossover between The Big Bang Theory and Roseanne is, of course, Johnny Galecki. Galecki joined Roseanne in season 4 playing David Healy, younger brother of the twice recast Becky Conner’s eventual husband Mark, and long-term love interest of Darlene Conner. David was probably Galecki’s most well-known role until landing the part of Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory.

Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf may today be a decorated three-time Emmy winner – and eleven-time nominee – but she first gained fame playing wacky aunt Jackie on Roseanne. Metcalf quickly cemented herself as a standout in the cast, and someone always able to steal a scene. On The Big Bang Theory, she played Sheldon Cooper’s mother Mary, a woman quite unlike her son in most ways, but who was still there for him whenever he needed her. In a fun bit of meta casting, Metcalf’s daughter Zoe Perry plays Mary on Young Sheldon.

Sara Gilbert

An early sign that Johnny Galecki and Chuck Lorre’s past on Roseanne wouldn’t be shied away from on The Big Bang Theory was the introduction of Sara Gilbert’s Leslie Winkle, a recurring character and occasional love interest to Leonard. This was a clear nod back to Galecki and Gilbert’s time playing fan-favorite couple Darlene and David on Roseanne. After a few years though, Leslie just kind of vanished.

Carrie Fisher

Late Star Wars icon Carrie “Princess Leia” Fisher made a cameo in the 2014 The Big Bang Theory episode “The Convention Conundrum,” alongside the man who voiced her onscreen father James Earl Jones. Interestingly, Princess Leia’s actor Fisher’s Roseanne connection doesn’t come from working in front of the camera. She was also an accomplished writer, and wrote a season 9 episode called “Arsenic and Old Mom,” which starred her real-life mother Debbie Reynolds as Dan’s ill mom Audrey. Amusingly, she even threw in a joke about her famous Slave Leia bikini from Return of the Jedi.

Stephen Root

Stephen Root is probably best known for his role in Office Space, but he’s carved out quite a career for himself as a character actor. Root played Dan on two episodes of The Big Bang Theory, a higher-up at the pharmaceutical company Bernadette works at that interviews Penny for a job; he’s also terrified of Bernadette. On Roseanne, Office Space Milton star Root appeared on the season 2 episode “Fender Bender,” playing a lawyer Roseanne hires when considering a lawsuit against her boss after a minor car accident causes an injury.

Sara Rue

Sara Rue guest starred as Dr. Stephanie Barnett on three episodes of The Big Bang Theory, one of Leonard’s numerous brief girlfriends. Rue has lots of recurring sitcom roles on her resume and led the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect for four seasons. A much younger Rue made a brief appearance on Roseanne‘s fourth Halloween episode, which saw Roseanne relive some of her past Halloween experiences, with Rue playing her as a teenager.

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres appeared in two The Big Bang Theory episodes, both times as herself. In the first episode, Bert and Sheldon attend a taping of Ellen’s talk show, while in the second, two scientists standing in the way of Sheldon and Amy’s quest for a Nobel Prize appear on Ellen’s show as guests. Previously, Ellen had guest starred as a psychiatrist named Dr. Whitman on the Roseanne episode “The Blaming of the Shrew,” who Jackie and her husband Fred went to in hopes of improving their marriage. Ellen was already starring in her own ABC sitcom at the time.

Other Roseanne Actors Who Appeared On Big Bang Theory

• Prolific character actor Meagen Fay (Malcolm in the Middle) played Bernadette’s mom in “The Fish Guts Displacement” on The Big Bang Theory, and back in the early 1990s, she recurred as Kathy Bowman on Roseanne, an uptight neighbor of the Conners.
• Soap opera stalwart Patrika Darbo (part of the long-running romantic epic Days of Our Lives) pops up on The Big Bang Theory in “The Perspiration Implementation” as a much older woman that Sheldon awkwardly asks out while trying to get over his and Amy’s recent break-up. On Roseanne‘s “Dream Lover,” Karbo played Marge Dolman, a woman Dan begins having spicy dreams about. Interestingly, Karbo would go on to play Roseanne Barr herself in an unauthorized TV movie about the tabloid exploits of Roseanne and then-husband Tom Arnold.
• Jim Turner (Arliss) appeared briefly as Reverend White on The Big Bang Theory episode “The Recombination Hypothesis,” during a dream sequence Penny has about a possible wedding to Leonard. On Roseanne, Turner played Stu Mehlman in “Suck Up or Shut Up,” the owner of a restaurant supply company that Roseanne’s boss Leon tries hard to stay on good terms with.

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