Johnny Galecki's "Actor Friend" Allegedly Caused Rewrites On TBBT Because Of His Problematic Relatio

Highlights

• DJ Qualls regretted his Big Bang Theory role and left after one episode despite a planned 10-episode arc due to Chuck Lorre's behavior.
• Qualls faced issues with Lorre during auditions for Sheldon role against Jim Parsons and was told he wouldn't get the part before reading.
• Guest stars, like Billy Bob Thornton, had specific requests for their roles, with Thornton agreeing to a storyline due to Kaley Cuoco's impact.

A major part of The Big Bang Theory's success is how easygoing the atmosphere was behind the scenes. The cast got along and for the most part, the guest stars had positive experiences.

However, that didn't hold true for Johnny Galecki's long-time friend, DJ Qualls. His experience on The Big Bang Theory was a nightmare, and that started long before his cameo, during the early auditions for the show.

We'll explain what happened to the actor, and why he hated his time with Chuck Lorre. We'll reveal why his time was cut short, and what was expected from his story arc on the show at the start.

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Johnny Galecki's Friend DJ Qualls Lasted One Episode In What Should've Been A Lengthy Storyline Arc

Imagine getting a role on The Big Bang Theory and crying about it... in fear, not because of joy. That's exactly what happened with DJ Qualls who regretted his Big Bang Theory role. It seemed like Qualls had auditioned for the role of Sheldon early on, and came up short. He wasn't comfortable in such an environment, and not even his friendship with Johnny Galecki could saved him.

A Reddit user wrote that Qualls revealed he was close to Galecki.

"I also learned he and Johnny are really good friends and have known each other for 20 years and it sucked to have to quit a show that good with one of his friends."

The Reddit user adds that Qualls' appearance on the show turned into a nightmare behind the scenes given that the actor left after one episode, despite the fact that he was scheduled for a lengthy storyline arc.

"He was actually supposed to be in 10 episodes. He was going to live with them for a while and have a full story arc. He said Chuck was such an abusive a******e to him for no reason he quit after the one week because he cant work for someone like that."

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Qualls himself admitted in other interviews that he shouldn't have taken the role, and was crying hoping for a delay the night prior.

Problems Between DJ Qualls And Chuck Lorre Started In The Audition Room

Alongside TV Line, Qualls looked back on memories from the set, which included his audition on The Big Bang Theory. Qualls was actually in the running for the role of Sheldon, but came up short against Jim Parsons. According to the actor, Chuck Lorre flat out told him he wasn't getting the role during his final read for the part.

“I studio-tested against Jim Parsons for that role. It came down to me and him. And they made us read, before all of the CBS studio executives, in front of each other,” he says.

“He went before me. And I turned to [creator] Chuck Lorre afterward and I was like, ‘I’m not going to get this part. I can’t read.’ And he was like, ‘Oh no, you’re not going to get this part – but you have to read.'” The “horrifying” experience so affected Qualls that “that was the last time I tested.”

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It was a rough experience for Qualls alongside Chuck Lorre, and it seems like those issues carried over during his cameo on the series.

Certain Big Bang Theory Guest-Stars Like Billy Bob Thornton Had Specific Requests About Working On The Show

Big Bang Theory had a stacked list of guest stars throughout its 12 season run. Among those major names included Billy Bob Thornton. However, it seems like the actor had specific conditions for working with Kaley Cuoco on The Big Bang Theory.

Showrunner Steve Molaro revealed Thorton's pitch.

"It did come up a little bit, but he basically got to try to." Molaro continues, "The idea that came up of Penny taking her engagement ring off while she’s working had been floating around for a while. We thought, what if Billy is this socially awkward, sympathetic doctor who doesn’t quite know how to process Penny’s flirtations with him. We had that basic idea and went to Billy and his people ran it by them. Billy was on the phone, and he thought it was a really fun idea and was into it. That’s how it began."

Kaley Cuoco had a massive impact on getting guest stars. Even William Shatner agreed to the show, in large part, thanks to meeting Cuoco off-camera.

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