John Goodman might be a huge Hollywood star, but the truth is that the family man behind what the public sees just wants to be like everyone else: Normal.
The well-known celebrity has been through plenty in his life, from depression to drinking problems. But in the end, family is the most important thing for him, and he’s now dropped over 100 pounds in weight! Take a look at his amazing transformation!
John Goodman always wanted to be an actor. As a young child, he found his passion for acting, which would evolve into a successful and long career filled with amazing roles and awards.
Through the years. Goodman has created a wonderful family, and a place to call home in New Orleans. But he’s also been through some pretty dark times, not at all helped by depression.
These days, Goodman’s been sober for many years, and focuses on his love for his family and acting. In addition. he’s lost a lot of weight, making him even more inspiring than before!
John Goodman always had the dream of becoming an actor.
Goodman was born on June 20, 1952 in Affton, Missouri, to father Leslie Goodman, a postal worker, and waitress Virginia Goodman. At just two years of age, he experienced tragedy when his father passed away after a heart attack. It left Virginia to raise Goodman and his two siblings on her own.
Goodman was always interested in the art of acting. As a kid, he loved watching the television series Have Gun – Will Travel, starring Richard Boone, and also held aspirations of becoming a radio DJ.
There was something about working in radio that attracted him, and he held a dream of going into that profession for a long time.
“There was one guy that I was hooked on every night,” Goodman said on Late Night with Seth Myers.
“Plus we got to listen to old time radio dramas when I was a kid. Everything coming over the radio I loved, there was something about one guy talking to you. Up until I was in college, I thought I could pull this off.”
Goodman went to Affton High School, where he proved himself to be a great athlete, playing football but also doing plenty of theatre work. He got a scholarship to play football at Missouri State University, but an injury crushed his dreams of making it professional.
Instead, he moved on to study drama at Missouri State University, studying alongside actresses such as Kathleen Turner and Tess Harper. He quickly fell in love with it.
In 1975, with Goodman 23 years old, he realized he needed to move from Missouri to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. So he headed to the one place to be: New York City. He took a loan from his brother and rented an apartment near the Manhattan theater district, together with his girlfriend.
“I knew that if I didn’t, I’d regret it – if I didn’t at least try,” he said.
However, being a young aspiring actor in New York wasn’t easy. Goodman didn’t have contacts, money or an agent, and his mother didn’t really understand why he was going to pursue a career in a profession she didn’t know at all.
Speaking to The Guardian, John explained that the first few months in New York were “pretty terrifying”. He was overwhelmed with the city, first and foremost. At the same time, just being able to make it through the day was a problem.
John Goodman – early career
Every day, Goodman woke up and went looking for auditions just to get his name out there so that he could later join an actors’ union. He sent headshots to several regional theaters and advertising companies – but nothing happened.
“There were times when I’d run out of money,” he says. One night, “I had some beans on the stove. I left them on the stove to simmer and I got locked out of the apartment so they were gone. And that was the last meal for a while.”
Times were tough, and Goodman worked as both a bartender and waiter to make ends meet. He was also able to land some smaller work in the form of commercials and voice overs. Together with actors Dennis Quaid and Bruce Willis – who was also struggling at the time – he finally got a job in the Broadway production Loose Ends.
But it was a flop.
The year before, in 1977, Goodman made his off-Broadway debut in the film Jailbait Babysitter. But times soon would soon get better for the struggling actor, as he scored a role in the television film The Face of Rage (1983), along with several smaller parts in other films and series.
In the 1980s, Goodman would finally get his big breakthrough. He starred as Pap Finn in Big River (1985) and again the same year in David Byrne’s True Stories. Goodman never let his dream of being an actor bring him down. In 1987, he got a role in the Coen Brothers’ cult-classic Raising Arizona (1987), in which Goodman starred alongside Nicolas Cage.
John was finally on the rise in show business. Then, in 1988, everything changed for the better once again.
While working on Antony and Cleopatra in 1987, a talent scout thought he would be perfect for the role of Dan Conner on the new sitcom Roseanne.
He was cast as Conner on the ABC TV series, and the show became a smash-hit. John Goodman was stardom-bound. He went from being just a character actor to holding down a leading role.
“I like Dan Conner,” he told People in 1988.
“He’s like a lot of guys I know. In the wintertime they don’t work because construction is sporadic. I don’t want to have to stand for the American workingman, but if this guy’s gonna be one, I’d rather have him be semi-intelligent, not a dumb beast who sucks down beer all day.”
