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Leonard Hofstadter

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Leonard Hofstadter, PhD
Johnny Galecki as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter
First appearance"Pilot"
Portrayed byJohnny Galecki
IQ173
In-universe information
GenderMale
TitleDr. Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, PhD
OccupationExperimental physicist
FamilyBeverly Hofstadter (mother), Michael (young brother), unnamed father and sister
NationalityAmerican

Dr. Leonard Leakey Hofstadter is a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Johnny Galecki.

Leonard shares an apartment with colleague and friend Sheldon Cooper. They live across the hallway from Penny.

Leonard is the straight man of the series. The writers have toyed with a romance between him and neighbor Penny, with their unresolved sexual tension being a major force for drama.

John Galecki's character is named after actor/producer Sheldon Leonard and Nobel prize winner Robert Hofstadter.[citation needed]

Personality

Originally from New Jersey, Leonard is a Caltech experimental physicist who shares an apartment with Sheldon Cooper in Pasadena, California. He is usually seen wearing his characteristic black framed glasses, neutral colored sweat jackets, brown trousers, and physics-themed t-shirts.

Although Leonard feels at home with his geek colleagues, he wants more socially. He is instantly captivated by the presence of Penny, and from the beginning sets to conquer her.[1]

In the early episodes, Leonard is reluctant to let Penny know about his recreational activities (such as Klingon Boggle) as he does not like to be seen as a nerd by her. While certainly a nerd by most definitions, he is much less socially awkward than Sheldon, and even Howard (who is too "creepy") and Raj (who can't talk to women).

Despite his attempts to reject his nerd status, Leonard owns, among other things, Star Wars hygiene products, an expansive Superman comic book collection and a Battlestar Galactica Colonial warrior's flight suit. Early in the series, Leonard tried to get rid of his collectables to show maturity and impress Penny. However, Leonard changed his mind when he saw Penny was already dating another man.[2]

Knowing Sheldon best, Leonard is obligated to serve as a mediator between Sheldon and other people in many situations. For instance, when Penny and Sheldon engaged in fierce dispute, Leonard gave Penny the phone number of Sheldon's mother so she would get scold Sheldon thus ending.[3]

Throughout the show's course, it has been mentioned that Leonard has a number of health problems. The malady mentioned most often is his lactose intolerance; eating any sort of dairy product causes Leonard to produce a toxic gas that, according to Sheldon, could be used by the military as a chemical weapon. Leonard also wears glasses because of myopia, and practically cannot see without them.[4] At various points in the show, Sheldon also says that Leonard suffers from sleep apnea and gets carsick unless he sits in the front seat.

Family

All of the members of Leonard's family are accomplished scientists.

His mother, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who has a personality almost identical to Sheldon's, including strict speech patterns, lack of social conventions, and attention to detail, and is principally responsible for the difficult childhood Leonard had.

Due to his mother's views, Leonard never celebrated his birthday when he was a child,[5] and when she visited him she was not impressed with Leonard's unoriginal research. Leonard mentioned to Penny that when he was young he built a "hugging machine" in order to compensate for the lack of affection from his mother.[6]

Beverly also mentioned that Leonard's brother and sister are more successful in their respective fields than he is. According to Beverly, Leonard's brother, Michael, is a Harvard law professor and is engaged to the youngest appellatee court judges in New Jersey history, and Leonard's sister is a cutting-edge medical researcher working with gibbons to cure diabetes.[6]

Leonard's father is briefly mentioned as an anthropologist. Sheldon mentioned that Leonard's middle name, Leakey, comes from famed archaeologist Louis Leakey, with whom Leonard's father had worked.[7]

Work

With an IQ of 173,[1][4] Leonard was 24 years old when he received his Ph.D.[8]

Leonard works as an experimental physicist. His work often includes the use of lasers, such as a helium-neon laser or free electron laser, and his research topics have varied from Bose-Einstein condensates to soft cosmic rays at sea level.

Leonard designs experiments in order to prove theories but, according to the cynical Sheldon, his work is mostly derivative and thus unimportant.

His attempts to disprove the existence of dark matter were made moot by the work of another physicist. Yet, he resolved the latter by helping to solidify proof of the hypothetical matter's existence with a photomultiplier, was invited as keynote speaker to a topical conference by the Institute of Experimental Physics for his successful research on supersolids and has showed diverse knowledge of theoretical physics.

Relationships

Being a nerd, Leonard is usually shy around women but, unlike Sheldon, he actually cares about having a girlfriend.

Leonard falls head over heels for Penny within seconds of spotting her. While at first it seems like lust rather than love, by the end of their first encounter with Penny, Leonard announces to Sheldon that "our babies will be smart and beautiful"[1]

One of the first relationships in which Leonard was involved was with Joyce Kim. She is never seen, but many times Leonard friends recall that they were together for only 27 days, after which Joyce defected to North Korea.[9]

After being unsuccessful with Penny, Leonard participated in two short-lived sexual encounters with Leslie Winkle.[10][11]

At the season one finale, he and Penny have their first date. Though both are skeptical, Leonard ends up giving Penny a very passionate kiss. However, a serious relationship is hampered by insecurities between the two and constant interference from his friends.

He is thereafter in a relationship with Dr. Stephanie Barnett (Sara Rue) for a short time.

After they break up, Leonard comes very close to having sex with Penny at one point, but ruins it by stating they are having sex because of their own insecurities.

In the third season, he and Penny start a romantic relationship, which is questioned by Leonard and his pals.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Pilot". The Big Bang Theory. Season 1. Episode 1 (1). September 24, 2007. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "The Nerdvana Annihilation". The Big Bang Theory. Season 1. Episode 14 (14). April 28, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "The Panty Piñata Polarization". The Big Bang Theory. Season 2. Episode 7 (24). November 10, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "The Pancake Batter Anomaly". The Big Bang Theory. Season 1. Episode 11 (11). March 31, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "S01E11" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Peanut Reaction". {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  6. ^ a b "The Maternal Capacitance". The Big Bang Theory. Season 2. Episode 15 (32). February 9, 2009. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "The Middle Earth Paradigm". The Big Bang Theory. Season 1. Episode 6 (6). October 29, 2007. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "The Bat Jar Conjecture". The Big Bang Theory. Season 1. Episode 13 (13). April 21, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "The White Asparagus Triangulation". {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  10. ^ "The Hamburger Postulate". The Big Bang Theory. Season 1. Episode 5 (5). October 22, 2007. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "The Codpiece Topology". {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  12. ^ "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary". The Big Bang Theory. Season 3. Episode 5. October 19, 2009. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
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