From a storyline standpoint, . However, it does seem like there was a specific reason for her departure from .
In the following, we're going to take a closer look at why Leslie's time was cut short, despite her promising start. In addition, we'll reveal thoughts on Sara Gilbert parting ways with the show. According to the actor, it made a lot of sense, especially given Gilbert's talents.
We'll also take a closer look at Gilbert's relationship with Galecki behind the camera, and so much more.
She played the role of Leslie Winkle for nine episodes, between 2007, until her final cameo in 2016. At the start of Sara Gilbert's time on the show, it seemed like she was staying for the long run as a supporting player. She had a close connection with Leonard, while her feud with Sheldon was constantly ongoing and highly entertaining. However, it wasn't meant to be, and it seemed like writers ran out of storylines for Gilbert, resulting in Leslie Winkle's departure.
, Johnny Galecki spoke about Gilbert's release. In his view, it was pointless to hang on to someone as talented as Gilbert, without anything significant for her to do.
Galecki revealed, "It wasn’t full-fledged to begin with. I think it was seven out of the first 13 episodes. I don’t know how many of those were fulfilled. I’m not really sure. I mean, I think it’s definitely…what’s the word? Amicable. I mean, Sara comes to our parties and stuff like that, even when she’s not in the episode. And we love her, and we love having her there. It’s just a situation of, when is it right to bring her back? You don’t want to waste an actress like Sara Gilbert."
Galecki added that it didn't seem as though Gilbert was interested in sticking around either.
"Fortunately, she doesn’t need the work and would rather wait for it to be a good reason for the character to come back. Having guest stars and having recurring characters has been a tricky fight with this ensemble. Maybe it always is with an ensemble cast. But we’ve been lucky enough to have some really, really good actors and actresses visit."
Despite the early exit, Gilbert hasn't bashed her time on the show and instead, she's had nothing but praise for her relationship with Johnny Galecki in the past.
During their time together on
, Gilbert and Galecki developed a close relationship behind the scenes. Gilbert credits Galecki for their time together, admitting the actor could not have been more supportive once she revealed her sexuality.
“I eventually told him I thought it was about my sexuality, and he was supersweet about it."
Gilbert also added that over the years, the chemistry between them was just undeniable.
“There’s just an indescribable chemistry between us,” Gilbert says. “It’s something you can’t buy and you can’t bottle and you just… It’s very rare, and you have it with certain people and you don’t have it with others, and we’re just so fortunate that we have it.
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Who really knows what would have looked like had Leslie stuck around for the long-term? Ultimately, it just wasn't meant to be in terms of the story.
Johnny Galecki showed a lot of gratitude to his fellow supporting cast members throughout In fact, take his TV mom Christine Baranski. Johnny was under the impression that his co-star would be completely different. Galecki revealed .
"That was really very cool and flattering, because you hear something like that, that Christine Baranski is going to come on the show, and I just kept saying, “Well, she doesn’t want to come do our show.
” You know, I’m so modest about our new little show, and I’m, like, “She’s probably just coming to do Chuck Lorre a favor, but who cares, because it’s Christine Baranski and that’s so exciting," Galecki tells Bullz-Eye.
The actor continues, "But then she gets there, and she knows every episode and she’s spending her lunch hours going over her lines. You know, not phoning anything in whatsoever."
It turned out to be a major reason for the show's success, bringing in a talented crop of supporting actors.
