Leonard Hofstadter

Leonard Hofstadter is the social hinge of The Big Bang Theory: an experimental physicist comfortable enough in Sheldon’s intellectual world to live with him, but sufficiently aware of ordinary social expectations to translate that world for everyone else. His layered hoodies and understated clothes make him visually ordinary, which is part of the character’s function. The 2015 LEGO Ideas set was notable because a contemporary adult sitcom—built mostly from conversations in an apartment—became an official LEGO product through fan support. Leonard therefore represents an expansion of what LEGO could be ‘about.’ No spaceship is required; the subject is the people who sit on the couch talking about them.