WITH AN EYE ON . . . : Life as Becky No. 2 on āRoseanneā is No. 1 role for Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke may have been a teen-ager from Canada who hadnāt yet acted in the United States, but she wasnāt a bit daunted when asked to take over a long-established role on ABCās highly rated āRoseanneā last year. In fact, sheās settled comfortably into the role and donāt be surprised if you overhear some people remark: āSomeone else played Becky?ā
āIt may have seemed very intimidating,ā Chalke recalls from her Vancouver home, about replacing Lecy Goranson as Becky, the Connersā oldest daughter, on the sixth episode of āRoseanneāsā sixth season. āThere were a lot of audience expectations, but everyone in the cast and crew was so supportive it made it very easy. I was so excited the whole time--I couldnāt believe I got the role.ā
Rob Ulin, the showās executive producer, says, āSarahās just been terrific. She never seemed intimidated and has this very easy way with people, so that they immediately seemed comfortable with her.
Chalke, 18, says she didnāt give much thought about trying to follow Goransonās style. āActually, a lot of crew members remarked that we had very similar mannerisms. They said when I was standing, it was like the way Lecy stood, that kind of thing.ā
The question of whether viewers would accept a new actress as Becky was weighed heavily by the producers, says Ulin, who was a writer on the show at the time and not part of the decision-making process. āThat decision was made by Roseanne and Tom Arnold, who was an executive producer at the time.
āWe were very worried that it would be a tough transition,ā Ulin acknowledges, ābut it seems to have worked out quite well. The audience adjusted to the change pretty easily.ā
And Roseanne & Co., in their customary flair for self-parody, poked fun at the whole thing in Chalkeās first episode, having the Conner family watching āBewitchedā and commenting on which Darrin (Dick York or Dick Sargent) was better.
While Chalke says sheās tried to play Becky as close to Goransonās portrayal as possible, Ulin says that āthereās a different edge to Becky now. Sarahās brought new stuff to the character. But Becky has changed so much as well; sheās gotten older and is married.ā
The bilingual Chalke--most of her classes were in French--graduated from high school last summer, and has moved to the San Fernando Valley, near where āRoseanneā is taped.
At 12, the Vancouver native got the acting bug and eventually landed a role on a Canadian childrenās educational show, āKidās Own.ā Other TV roles followed, including a part in the PBS production of āCity Boy,ā with James Brolin.
āThe biggest job Iāve ever had by far is āRoseanneā, ā she says.
Despite the media frenzy and controversy surrounding the āRoseanneā show and its star, Chalke doesnāt see anything tumultuous. āRoseanne is great and so much fun. The first time I went there for the audition, she was cracking jokes and encouraging. Whatās really neat is sheās so involved in her show, in the episodeās topics, the writing, everything.ā
As for whatās ahead, Chalke plans to take things easy. āI pretty much play it all by ear, one week at a time. In the meantime, Iām going to keep commuting between Los Angeles and Vancouver. I just love it up here.ā
She looks forward to visits with her parents and two sisters (Chalke is the middle child). For her, being in L.A. is āreally only for work. I want to spend most of my free time in Vancouver.ā Eventually, she adds, she will return to school.
āItās really hard to say what will happen to me,ā she says. āI just want to try and live my life with as much normalcy as possible and keep doing what I love to do, spending time with people I care about, and skiing, hiking and sailing.ā
āRoseanneā airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
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