At the turn of the century, Sarah Chalke believed her fifteen minutes on American television had passed. She had gotten the acting bug while a child in her native Canada and some minor roles in modest Canadian productions in her teens may have been enough to satiate the entertainment thirst. But an opportunity – albeit a long shot – arose in 1993 that demonstrated Sarah’s “caution to the wind” mentality. The role of Becky on ABC’s “Roseanne” had opened as actress Lecy Goransen stepped down to go to college. For the fun of it, and despite her minimum credentials, Sarah auditioned. She got it.
As it would later prove, “Roseanne” was not the only long-running television show Sarah would participate in, but at the time she believed this would indeed be the peak of her career. The exposure on the ABC sitcom paved the way in the mid-1990s for some standard made-for-TV fare such as “Dead Ahead” and “Stand Against Fear.” “Roseanne” folded in 1997 prompting Sarah to wander through TV and low-grade film work, such as the 1999 action thriller “Y2K” with Louis Gossett, Jr. She returned to Canada television for the short-lived “Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy” before the lights shut that set down in 1999. At this point, Sarah believed perhaps a career move to become a dental hygienist was her new calling, and in 2000 it was generally considered that Sarah Chalke’s acting days were numbered. And then there was “Scrubs.”
As Dr. Elliot Reed on the NBC show, Sarah had found the most ideal part of her career – and the growing fan base and devotion to the show was only icing on the cake. At least through the latter part of the 2000s “Scrubs” was Sarah’s calling card, despite some film roles in “Cake,” “Chaos Theory,” and “Mama’s Boy.” She guest starred on “How I Met Your Mother” on ABC, but when “Scrubs” eventually closes its doors, Sarah should have no problem in continuing to forge a life on the American screen. She stuck to her guns throughout the low points of her career, has given fans a heroine in Elliot Reed, and can claim to be part of some unique projects of the 1990s and 2000s.
Iconic Character – Elliot Reid on “Scrubs”
For many fans, Sarah’s role as Elliot on “Scrubs” will always be a favorite. We highlighted this character in our “TV Girlfriends” feature in the “Coworkers With Benefits” catagory. Here’s what we said about the character:
“If we had decided to include a “Pretty, Crazy” category on our list, there’s a good chance Elliot Reid would have ended up there instead, but due to her proclivity of hooking up with guys at Sacred Heart (from co-workers like J.D. and intern Keith to patients like Sean Kelly and that douchebag Jake), she’s actually a good fit. In fact, Elliot isn’t so much crazy as just really, really eccentric…but God love her for that. Her low self-esteem and highly neurotic behavior is clearly a result of her closeted, white-collar upbringing, and though we’d rather not hear one of her exhaustive childhood stories about growing up in Connecticut, she only gets cuter with every PG-friendly swear word she uses. (For the record, the term “vagina” should officially be changed to “bajingo.”) Though she’s been known to be mistaken for Gary Busey on numerous occasions, there’s no denying that Elliot is one sexy woman worth dreaming about. Sure, she can be awkward at times, and she has some pretty weird sexual fantasies to boot (like the one involving Mexican apple thieves), but ever since her transformation from homely intern to beautiful, confident doctor, they’re quirks we’re more than prepared to deal with.”
Sarah’s Elliot character ended up winning the Coworkers With Benefits round of voting, and here’s what we said about what it would be like to date that character:
WHY SHE GOT HERE: Her transformation from homely intern to beautiful, confident doctor over the course of the past several years.
DATING PROS: There’s no denying that Elliot is one sexy woman worth dreaming about, and we’re pretty sure that you can use her weird sexual fantasies to your advantage.
DATING CONS: If we’d decided to include a “Pretty, Crazy” category on our list, there’s a good chance she would’ve ended up there instead, due to her low self-esteem, neurotic behavior, and proclivity of hooking up with her co-workers.
Turk dreams about the lovely doctor
This is hot!
Sarah on the Screen
Her first role was on the Canadian project “City Boy” in 1992. She also has the distinguished honor of appearing in “Ernest Goes to School” in 1994 (credited as Sarah Chalk). She’s Becky Conner-Healy for 69 episodes of “Roseanne,” Katy in “All Shook Up,” Cinderella in “Cinderella: Single Again,” the voice of Marie Antoinette for 3 episodes on “Clone High,” Jane in “Cake,” Geralyn Lucas in the 2006 TV movie “Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy,” Dr. Elliot Reed on “Scrubs,” and Stella Zinman for three episodes on “How I Met Your Mother.”
Sarah Says
On the paparazzi:
“Your home should be your home. People shouldn’t be allowed to use whatever crazy lenses they use to catch you waking up in the morning.”