John Goodman turns 70: a successful career with private turmoil

John Goodman turns 70
Successful career with private turbulence

Whether as Fred Flintstone on screen or as Dan Conner on TV, John Goodman is best known and loved by his fans for his role as the burly head of the family. But if you rummage through his old works, the US actor, who celebrates his 70th birthday on June 20, is hardly recognizable – and not because of his advancing age. Goodman underwent a major transformation just a few years ago.

Goodman was born in 1952 in St Louis, Missouri. His father died when Goodman was two years old – his mother raised him alone. He attended Missouri State University and took acting classes after a teacher gave him a major role in a play at the theater. In 1975, at the age of 22, he moved to Manhattan, New York, to find fulfillment. He described the early days in an interview with the “Guardian” 2015 as “terrifying” and “overwhelming”. He first got to know the tough business of the acting business, living on a tight budget, running from casting to casting and surviving with waiter and advertising jobs. In 1985 he made his Broadway debut, which brought him minor film roles.

Dan Conner from next door

Goodman finally became known to TV audiences with “Roseanne” (1988-1997). For the many years of work on the series, the actor moved from New York to Los Angeles and played alongside leading actress Roseanne Barr (69) aka Roseanne Conner as her husband Dan in the hearts of the fans. The series about a US working-class family and their everyday challenges was one of the most popular formats of the 1990s. In 1993, Goodman brought it a Golden Globe for best leading actor in a comedy series.

As early as 1987, Goodman was finally able to gain a foothold in the film business. He first worked with Ethan (64) and Joel Coen (67) on “Arizona Junior”. Numerous joint projects were to follow. This includes the cult film “The Big Lebowski” (1998), in which Goodman plays the Vietnam veteran and choleric Walter Sobchak. With “Flintstones – The Flintstones” (1994) or “Blues Brothers 2000” (1998) he also became known to a wider audience.

Goodman was not unaffected by the consequences of fame – he picked up the bottle at the very beginning of his career. “I guess it started when I got my first film roles in 1983, 1984 and I was making money. My dream of being able to make a living from acting had finally come true. That’s when I started spending my money on alcohol,” he said 2013 in an interview with “SZ Magazin”. While the Coen brothers “steered clear” of him, the reputation of the joint films helped him land more roles, Goodman explained.

A last beer garden visit

But alcoholism not only increasingly burdened his work but also his private life. “At some point I realized that none of this is so funny to the people who care about my destiny, my wife Annabeth, my daughter Molly, my friends. Suddenly, my self-image was devastated: I suddenly saw myself as a total pig that contaminates others with the cancer of alcoholism.” After filming in Berlin and a last trip to the beer garden, he declared war on alcoholism in 2006. He will remain an alcoholic for the rest of his life, “but most of the time I’m so happy that I’m off alcohol – I don’t even think of drinking in a bar”.

In the 2010s, Goodman managed what he says was a “right run”. He acted in big films like “The Artist” (2011), “Argo” (2012), “Hangover 3” (2013), “Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013) or “Monuments Men” (2014). In between, he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013. In 2016, he scooped the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for the thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane. In 2018 he returned after a break of more than twenty years with the cult sitcom “Roseanne”. Shortly after the start of the new season, Roseanne Barr shot herself offside when she racially insulted a former adviser to Barack Obama (60) on Twitter. The series continued as “The Conners” without her and with Goodman. A fifth season was announced in May 2022.

John Goodman: “I wanted to have a better life”

At the end of December 2021, Goodman surprised at the premiere of the film “The Freak Brothers” in Los Angeles with a significantly slimmer appearance, which he has worked hard to achieve over the years. He is said to have lost 90 kilograms by this time. After a few yo-yo effect phases and after he had reached his personal upper limit of almost 180 kilograms in 2010, he began to change his habits. “I wanted to have a better life,” he said at the time the US magazine “People”. It robbed him of a lot of “creative energy” to “sit on your butt and think about what to eat next”. First, he started reducing the number of his meals. “It was basically just portion control… I just put everything in my mouth,” Goodman recalled in conversation with “AARP Magazine” 2018 to the time before his transformation. He also hired trainer and nutritionist Mackie Shilstone.

In 2016, he had reportedly lost 45 kilos, but not enough for the actor. Instead he expanded according to the Sun his sports program and made sure to get almost 10,000 steps a day. Goodman’s training schedule: Six times a week, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, 40 minutes of cardio training – supplemented by occasional strength units. Last but not least, he is said to have changed his diet – away from fast food and the like towards fish, olive oil, vegetables, nuts and fruits.

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