WITH AN EYE ON . . . : Life as Becky No. 2 on ‘Roseanne’ is No. 1 role for Sarah Chalke

Sarah Chalke may have been a teen-ager from Canada who hadn’t yet acted in the United States, but she wasn’t a bit daunted when asked to take over a long-established role on ABC’s highly rated “Roseanne” last year. In fact, she’s settled comfortably into the role and don’t be surprised if you overhear some people remark: “Someone else played Becky?”

“It may have seemed very intimidating,” Chalke recalls from her Vancouver home, about replacing Lecy Goranson as Becky, the Conners’ oldest daughter, on the sixth episode of “Roseanne’s” sixth season. “There 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 couldn’t believe I got the role.”

Rob Ulin, the show’s executive producer, says, “Sarah’s 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 didn’t give much thought about trying to follow Goranson’s style. “Actually, 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.”

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. “That decision was made by Roseanne and Tom Arnold, who was an executive producer at the time.

“We were very worried that it would be a tough transition,” Ulin acknowledges, “but it seems to have worked out quite well. The audience adjusted to the change pretty easily.”

And Roseanne & Co., in their customary flair for self-parody, poked fun at the whole thing in Chalke’s first episode, having the Conner family watching “Bewitched” and commenting on which Darrin (Dick York or Dick Sargent) was better.

While Chalke says she’s tried to play Becky as close to Goranson’s portrayal as possible, Ulin says that “there’s a different edge to Becky now. Sarah’s brought new stuff to the character. But Becky has changed so much as well; she’s gotten older and is married.”

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 “Roseanne” is taped.

At 12, the Vancouver native got the acting bug and eventually landed a role on a Canadian children’s educational show, “Kid’s Own.” Other TV roles followed, including a part in the PBS production of “City Boy,” with James Brolin.

“The biggest job I’ve ever had by far is ‘Roseanne’, “ she says.

Despite the media frenzy and controversy surrounding the “Roseanne” show and its star, Chalke doesn’t see anything tumultuous. “Roseanne is great and so much fun. The first time I went there for the audition, she was cracking jokes and encouraging. What’s really neat is she’s so involved in her show, in the episode’s topics, the writing, everything.”

As for what’s ahead, Chalke plans to take things easy. “I pretty much play it all by ear, one week at a time. In the meantime, I’m going to keep commuting between Los Angeles and Vancouver. I just love it up here.”

She looks forward to visits with her parents and two sisters (Chalke is the middle child). For her, being in L.A. is “really only for work. I want to spend most of my free time in Vancouver.” Eventually, she adds, she will return to school.

“It’s really hard to say what will happen to me,” she says. “I 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.”

“Roseanne” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.