Leonard Hofstadter

Living... in a well-sized apartment in Pasadena, California with one of his best friends, Sheldon. They have similar interests and have adorned their place to show it, meticulously displaying celebrations of superheroes, science fiction and the like.

Profession... experimental physicist at Caltech. While his work involves breaking theoretical ground, the lack of little practical impact often leads Leonard to fell unimportant in comparison to his other intellectual friends. His colleagues, however, hold him in high esteem.

Interests... Star Wars. Leonard is a huge fan of Star Wars and science fiction in general. Even though he has a large collection of comic books and memorabilia, Leonard does not like to admit it – even coming close to throwing out a lot of his belongings at some point in order to look more mature.

Relationship Status... complicated. He has been attracted to his neighbor Penny since he first saw her. While initially feeling that he was too much of a nerd for her, he eventually gathered the courage to ask her out. They have dated on and off, at times growing very attached but often breaking up. In between his sporadic relationships with Penny, Leonard attempts to date other women, but mostly in order forget about Penny and always with hope that they'll get back together.

Challenge... growing up. Leonard is extremely nerdy and mainly associates with people who fit this description. In relation to his friends, he is very outgoing, but still feels regular insecurity when it comes to social interaction. At one point he bemoaned, "12 years after high school and I'm still at the nerd table." His main goal seems to be becoming more sociable, but is held back by his embarrassment of geeky habits.

Personality... more socially adept than his equally brilliant friends. He's very easy to get along with, and unlike some of his smart friends, is able to empathize with others. Still, he sometimes just can't help but lean into his nerdy characteristics, even embellishing them at times for comedic effect. For example, once when excited by a mixed alcoholic drink, he said "Thank you! You know, this drink is a wonderful example of how liquids with different specific gravities interact in a cylindrical container!"