Sarah Chalke as Becky Healy # 2Sarah Chalke was brought from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Hollywood to do something few series ever attempt - replace a character in midstream. Chalke, who had never before acted in a sitcom, jumped in two years ago to take over the role of Becky Conner for Lecy Goranson, who left Roseanne to attend college. "Stepping into somebody else's shoes can be very intimidating,'' she says. "But it has worked out. The cast and crew have been very supportive of me, and I'm getting used to it.'' Chalke, 18, got her start in musical theater (even though she says she can't sing) and appeared on a Vancouver TV show, Kids Zone. When Roseanne's producers began their search for a new Becky, she sent a videotape of her performances and was called in to audition. She read a scene with Roseanne in front of the producers ``and it was really exciting and stressful,'' she says. To her surprise, a few weeks later she was asked to join the cast. This occurred in Chalke's last year of high school, but she continued her studies in Vancouver during weeks off from the show. And after the production season was over, she returned to school full time to prepare for graduation. She still commutes home every two weeks or so to see her friends and two sisters (ages 5 and 19). ``My friends are really important to me,'' she says. "They play a huge part in my life.'' Roseanne usually films for two weeks and then takes a week off. And the cast works Monday through Thursday. When Roseanne began the season, Becky announced she was trying to get pregnant, something Roseanne Conner actually accomplished on the show a few weeks later. But now Chalke doesn't think Becky will have a baby. ``It's a shame, because I love kids,'' she says. "I thought that would have been a lot of fun.'' |