Biography for
John Goodman (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

20 June 1952, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Birth Name

John Stephen Goodman

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Biography

John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne (1988-1997) for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe award in 1993. Goodman is also noted for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising Arizona as an escaped convict, in Barton Fink as a congenial murderer, in The Big Lebowski as a volatile bowler and in O Brother Where Art Thou? as a cultured thief. Additionally, Goodman's voice work has appeared in numerous Disney films, including the voice for "Sulley" in Monsters, Inc. Having contributed to more than 50 films, Goodman has also won two American Comedy Awards and hosted Saturday Night Live fourteen times.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Annabeth Hartzog

(27 October 1989 - present) 1 child

Trade Mark

[Late 1990s] Occasionally impersonated Linda Tripp on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Frequently plays the sympathetic friend of the lead character

Girth and deep voice

Frequently appears in Films by The Coen Brothers

Often plays Leaders and Authority figures

Trivia

Is one of the favorite hosts on "Saturday Night Live" (1975), hosting the show 11 times and making numerous surprise appearances starting from the 1989-1990 season to the present.

Daughter Molly Evangeline Goodman (born August 31st 1990) with Annabeth Hartzog.

His first job was as a bouncer.

Graduated from Southwest Missouri State with a drama degree.

Went to Affton High School in Affton, Missouri.

His first TV appearance was for a Burger King commercial in which he had no lines. He only had to bite into a Whopper sandwich with glee.

He was in the original Broadway cast of the 1985 musical "Big River", which is based on The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn. He played Pap Finn and can be heard on the cast recording singing "Guv'ment".

He was regarded as being so crucial to the feature film version of The Flintstones (1994) that the project would have been shelved if he had turned down the role of Fred.

Has played both the King of England (in King Ralph (1991)) and the President of the United States (in certain episodes of "The West Wing" (1999)).

Dan Conner, Goodman's character on "Roseanne" (1988), was ranked #13 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].

Resides in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Appeared in "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Alec Baldwin. Baldwin, who played the role originated by Marlon Brando, has played Robert De Niro on "Saturday Night Live" (1975). Goodman has played Brando and De Niro on "Saturday Night Live".

Moved to New York City shortly after college and lived in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. One of the jobs he held down as a struggling actor was as a waiter.

Was ordered by his doctors to lose a lot of weight in 2005. He referred to this as his biggest challenge since quitting smoking in 2003.

Was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon national fraternity (Missouri Eta chapter - Southwest Missouri State University).

Bought his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, from Trent Reznor, the brain behind the rock band Nine Inch Nails.

Was the first guest on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993) when the show premiered on 13 September 1993.

On "Inside the Actors Studio" (1994), he revealed that of all the projects he has worked on, The Big Lebowski (1998) is his favorite.

Had to lose weight in order to play Babe Ruth.

Is a huge fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.

Bought a $4.6 million dollar home in Pacific Palisades, California (2008).

Born to Leslie Goodman, Sr, a postal worker (died in 1955), and his wife Virginia, a store clerk and waitress, he has a sister, Elisabeth (born after father's death), and a brother, Leslie, Jr (14 years senior to John).

His unique style of throwing darts, holding the pointing tip of the dart with his thumb and index finger and then throwing the dart with the opposite end pointing to the board, so that the dart makes a 180-degree in mid air, with the pointed end to the stuck board, can be seen in many of his movies such as King Ralph (1991).

Started off in a small theater in Springboro, Ohio called the Miami Valley Dinner Theater now called La Comedia Dinner Theater. He appeared in the show "1776" in 1975.

Was considered for the role of Buck Russell in Uncle Buck (1989).

Quit drinking in 2007 and has vowed to remain sober.

Was considered for the role of Paul Hennessy on "8 Simple Rules" (2002).

Enjoys fishing and playing golf.

Drama classmates at Missouri State University included Kathleen Turner and Tess Harper.

Personal Quotes

We'll shoot in Los Angeles, on the same lot where we shot Roseanne. It'll be difficult because I live in New Orleans. But I really enjoy doing sitcoms. You've got 22 minutes a week to put on a new play. It keeps me off the street. [about his role as a gay construction worker]

Doing "Roseanne" (1988) made me famous. To this day, people will call me "Dan Arnold". They'll shout out, 'Where's Roseanne?'

I wish I could do it again. I didn't have enough time to get it right. [on his performance in The Babe (1992)].

I flew into New York for the Raising Arizona (1987) audition, and we just started joking around. I started going through their résumé pile, looking at actors, and just kinda made myself at home in my obnoxious way. I think they cast me because I had a baby face and that was a motif of the film. [on how he met and started his relationship with the Coen Bros.]

I quit a year and a half ago and I turned into a werewolf. I went nuts. I've been smoking since I was in junior high school. I did a couple of episodes of "The West Wing" (1999) two years ago and I was in the middle of one of these psycho things and turned around and smacked the stage door as hard as I could and my fist immediately swelled up. Thank God I didn't break anything, but that was the last episode I had of nicotine withdrawal. [on quitting smoking in 2003].

(2007 - After completing rehab at Promises in Malibu) For my family and myself, I voluntarily took the necessary steps to remain sober the rest of my life.

(2008, on avoiding the Vietnam draft) I went to take my physical. But they measured me two inches shorter than I am. They measured me at six foot instead of six foot two. I was eleven pounds overweight for that height. They told me to lose weight and come back. By the time I was scheduled to come back, the draft was abolished.

(2008, on working with Al Pacino) I just idolized Al Pacino, and I was afraid that, you know, he was gonna wipe his feet on me or put a cigarette out on my neck or something. But he was so full of fire. He had such passion for acting. It's nice to meet someone like that.

(2008) When I look at myself on film, I just see shit I should've done. I'm incapable of watching myself objectively. Unless it's The Big Lebowski. The writing is so goddamned good, you can just enjoy it, go along for the ride like everybody else. Babe Ruth is one of those things I wish I could go back and do over. It's like being in that dream where you're in the subway with no clothes on.

(2008) I always overtip. Because at the end of the night, your feet hurt and you get to count it up and there's a nice feeling when you've gotten tipped well. I know what it's like. My mom lived on tips.

(2008) Celebrity is a dirty word. People are conditioned to hate you if you're famous or in show business. It's that love-hate thing. They can't wait for you to fail or get pulled over with a hooker or a stripper or a teenage boy with a lot of blow in the car.

(On Coyote Ugly) For the money. Honest to God, that's the only reason I did it.

Salary

The Flintstones (1994)

$3,000,000