John Goodman Biography

John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is 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, and for providing the voice of Sulley in Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University. Other prominent roles he has portrayed include his leading voice role in Frosty Returns, his recent supporting roles in The Artist, Argo, Flight, and The Hangover Part III, and a cameo in C.H.U.D. As a film actor, he has frequently collaborated with the Coen brothers on such films as Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Early life and education

Goodman was born in St. Louis, Missouri on June 20, 1952. His mother, Virginia Roos (née Loosmore), was a store clerk and waitress who worked at Jack and Phil's Bar-B-Que, while his father, Leslie Francis Goodman, was a postal worker who died of a heart attack when Goodman was only two years old. He has a sister, Elisabeth Horvath, and a brother, Leslie. He is of English, Welsh, and German ancestry.

Goodman went to Affton High School, where he played football and dabbled in theater. He won a football scholarship to Southwest Missouri State University, now Missouri State University. He pledged to Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, but was not formally initiated until several years later. He discovered SoMo's drama program and studied there with actors Kathleen Turner and Tess Harper. After a college injury ended his football career, he decided to become a professional actor and left Missouri for New York in 1975.

With a small bankroll from his brother, Goodman found an apartment on Ninth Avenue and 51st Street, near Manhattan's Theater District, and attempted unsuccessfully to earn money as a bartender and waiter. He was soon to find modest success on stage, though, in commercials and in voiceover performances. He was the person who slapped himself in the commercial for Skin Bracer by Mennen, saying the famous line "Thanks ... I needed that!" He performed off-Broadway and in dinner theatres before landing character roles in movies during the early 1980s.

Career

In 1985, Goodman originated the role of Pap Finn in the Broadway musical Big River. For his role, he received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical; he also is featured on the Original Broadway Cast Recording. He had a long history of appearances on late night comedy shows, and was the first guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which won him the show's "First Guest Medal" (Goodman joked that he would pawn the medal for a bottle of cheap Scotch). He has hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live 13 times, while also making seven cameo appearances as Linda Tripp during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Goodman auditioned to be a cast member for Jean Doumanian's tumultuous 1980"1981 SNL season, but was rejected.

In 1982, Goodman started landing movie roles, beginning with a small role in Eddie Macon's Run. During this period he continued to work on the stage, starring in the Tony-winning Broadway musical Big River from 1985 to 1987. Before landing his big break into movies in 1986, with a significant comedic role in the David Byrne absurdist comedy/musical True Stories, he had a brief cameo as Otis - in the Patsy Cline biopic Sweet Dreams. In the former film, his character Louis Fyne memorably utters the line: "I'm 6' 3" and maintain a consistent panda bear shape", establishing his trademark size as an important part of many characters he would later play on film and stage - and in the latter film, he plays the `guy who sold Patsy's husband the car' he would destroy in the Demolition Derby.

He is also known for his role as the head football coach for Adams College in the movie Revenge of the Nerds. In 1997, John Goodman was added to the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

He first worked with the Coen Brothers on Raising Arizona (1987). He would go on to appear in their films Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). In 2011, it was announced he would return to working with them on Inside Llewyn Davis"?his fifth film with them and his first for a decade. Only Steve Buscemi has appeared in more Coen works (six films), though Frances McDormand and Jon Polito have also appeared in five of their films.

Goodman is most famous for his role as Dan Conner on the American sitcom Roseanne, which aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997.

Goodman had guest roles on the Aaron Sorkin television dramas The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In the former he appeared in four episodes, playing Speaker of the House and eventual President Glen Allen Walken. In the latter, he appeared as Pahrump, Nevada Judge Robert Bebe, earning a 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor " Drama Series for his performance. In addition, Goodman starred as Fred Flintstone in the film adaptation of The Flintstones.

He voiced Robot Santa in the character's first appearance on Futurama. Beginning in 2007, Goodman has been the voiceover in Dunkin' Donuts commercials. In 2000, Goodman provided the voice of Pacha in the Disney film The Emperor's New Groove and, a year later, the voice of Sulley in the Disney/Pixar film Monsters, Inc. In 2009, Goodman voice "Big Daddy" La Bouff in Disney's The Princess and the Frog. Goodman's voice can also be heard on an automated message system at Lambert St. Louis International airport.

In theater, Goodman played the Ghost of Christmas Present in the 2008 Kodak Theatre production of A Christmas Carol, starring Christopher Lloyd as Ebenezer Scrooge. He played the role of Pozzo in a Studio 54 revival of the play Waiting for Godot, opposite Bill Irwin and Nathan Lane.

In 2011, Goodman was a guest star on the third season of NBC's Community. He also voiced a character in id Software's game RAGE voicing Dan Hagar, and played movie studio chief Al Zimmer in the Academy Award"winning live action film The Artist, as well as Best Picture nominee Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close the same year. In February 2012, it was reported that Goodman would reunite with Roseanne Barr for a new NBC pilot titled Downwardly Mobile. The show would have had Goodman portray a bachelor mechanic and all around clown as a resident in a trailer park, and would have used the standard multiple-camera setup traditionally found in sitcoms, however the series' option was not picked up by the network.

John Goodman was inducted as a Disney Legend on August 10, 2013.

Charity work

Goodman has long resided in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since Hurricane Katrina, Goodman has appeared on several recovery commercials aired in Louisiana.

Goodman was cast in In the Electric Mist (2009) as Julie "Baby Feet" Balboni, which is set in post"Hurricane Katrina Louisiana. Goodman was at one time slated to play the role of Ignatius Reilly, the main character of A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The story takes place almost entirely in New Orleans. However, the movie was never put into production. The movie The Princess and the Frog where he lent his voice as Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff also takes place in New Orleans. Goodman was featured in the HBO series Treme. Treme focuses on a group of interconnected people trying to rebuild their lives in post"Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Goodman played Creighton Bernette, a Tulane English professor.

In 2010, Goodman appeared in a commercial to raise awareness for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Also starring in the commercial were Sandra Bullock, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Jack Del Rio, Drew Brees, Emeril Lagasse, James Carville, and Blake Lively.

Personal life

Goodman and his wife, Anna Beth, live in New Orleans. As of October 2012, their daughter, Molly, was 22 and in film school.

In a 2009 interview, Goodman was open about his alcoholism, saying, "I don't know how much the old Jackie Daniel's franchise ruined my memory, which is going anyway, because of my advancing decrepitude. I had a 30-year run, and at the end I didn't care about anything. I was just fed up with myself. I didn't even want to be an actor anymore." In October 2012, he told Vulture's Jada Yuan: "If I'd picture in my mind a drink"?usually straight out of the ­bottle"?I couldn't not do it." Acting in plays, "I'd have the shakes so bad I'd have to have a drink to get through the show. I'm lucky I never got fired." Then one night, he says, "I bottomed out." He has been sober since 2007 and tries to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting every morning, and toward the end of 2009"2010, Goodman lost 100 pounds. He has stated that exercising and keeping a journal of food he consumed are what helped him keep the weight off.

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Eddie Macon's Run	Herbert
1983	'	Commando
1984	Revenge of the Nerds	Coach Harris
1984	C.H.U.D.	Cop in Diner
1984	Maria's Lovers	Frank
1985	Sweet Dreams	Otis
1986	True Stories	Louis Fyne
1987	'	Det. Andre DeSoto
1987	Raising Arizona	Gale Snoats
1987	Burglar	Det. Nyswander
1988	'	Duke Earle
1988	Punchline	John Krytsick
1988	Everybody's All-American	Lawrence
1989	Sea of Love	Det. Sherman Touhey
1989	Always	Al Yackey
1990	Stella	Ed Munn
1990	Arachnophobia	Delbert McClintock
1991	King Ralph	Ralph Hampton Gainesworth Jones
1991	Barton Fink	Charlie Meadows
1992	'	George Herman 'Babe' Ruth
1992	Frosty Returns	Frosty the Snowman	Voice
1993	Matinee	Lawrence Woolsey
1993	Born Yesterday	Harry Brock
1993	We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story	Rex the Dinosaur	Narrator Voice
1994	'	Newsreel Announcer	Credited as Karl Mundt
1994	'	Fred Flintstone
1996	Pie in the Sky	Alan Davenport
1996	Mother Night	Major Frank Wirtanen
1997	'	Ocious P. Potter
1998	Fallen	Jonesy
1998	Blues Brothers 2000	Mighty Mack McTeer
1998	'	Walter Sobchak
1998	Dirty Work	Mayor Adrian Riggins	Uncredited
1998	'	Mac the Parrot	Voice
1998	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie	Santa Claus	Voice
1999	'	Deepthroat
1999	Bringing Out the Dead	Larry
1999	'	Judge Joe B. Tolliver
2000	What Planet Are You From?	Roland Jones
2000	O Brother, Where Art Thou?	Daniel 'Big Dan' Teague
2000	'	Oklahoma Cop
2000	Coyote Ugly	Billene Sanford
2000	'	Pacha	Voice
2001	My First Mister	Benjamin
2001	One Night at McCool's	Det. Dehling
2001	Storytelling	Marty Livingston	Segment: "Non-Fiction"
2001	Monsters, Inc.	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan	Voice
2001	Happy Birthday
2002	Mike's New Car	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan	Voice Short film
2002	Dirty Deeds	Tony
2003	Masked and Anonymous	Uncle Sweetheart
2003	'	Baloo	Voice
2004	Home of Phobia	Rodney	Released under the title Freshman Orientation
2004	Clifford's Really Big Movie	George Wolfsbottom	Voice
2004	Beyond the Sea	Steve 'Boom Boom' Blauner
2005	Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School	Steve Mills
2005	Kronk's New Groove	Pacha	Voice Direct-to-video
2006	Cars	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan Truck	Voice Cameo appearance Car version of James P. "Sulley" Sullivan; Sullivan Truck made an appearance in Tokyo Mater.
2006	'	Santa Claus
2006	Tales of the Rat Fink	Ed "Big Daddy" Roth	Narrator Voice
2007	Death Sentence	Bones Darley
2007	Evan Almighty	Congressman Long
2007	Bee Movie	Layton T. Montgomery	Voice
2008	Speed Racer	Pops Racer
2009	Gigantic	Al Lolly
2009	Confessions of a Shopaholic	Graham Bloomwood
2009	In the Electric Mist	Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni
2009	Alabama Moon	Mr. Wellington
2009	Beyond All Boundaries	Capt. Edwin Simmons	Voice Short film
2009	'	Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff	Voice
2009	'	Narrator	Voice
2009	Pope Joan	Pope Sergius II
2009	Drunkboat	Mr. Fletcher
2011	'	Al Zimmer	Silent film
2011	Red State	Joseph Kennan
2011	Spring Break '83	Dick Bender
2011	Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close	Stan the Doorman
2012	Bunyan and Babe	Paul Bunyan	Voice
2012	ParaNorman	Mr. Prendergast	Voice
2012	'	Scott Talley	Cameo appearance
2012	Trouble with the Curve	Pete Klein
2012	Argo	John Chambers
2012	Flight	Harling Mays
2013	'	Marshall
2013	'	Sammy Boscoe	Uncredited
2013	Monsters University	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan	Voice
2013	Inside Llewyn Davis	Roland Turner	Post-production
2013	Monuments Men		Filming

Television roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	'	Fred	Television film
1983	Chiefs	Newt 'Tub' Murray	Miniseries
1983	Heart of Steel	Raymond Bohupinsky	Television film
1987	Murder Ordained	Hugh Rayburn	Television film
1987	'	Harold Winter	Episode: "Re-Entry"
1987	Moonlighting	Donald Chase	Episode: "Come Back Little Shiksa"
1988"1997	Roseanne	Dan Conner	221 episodes
1995	Kingfish	Huey P. Long	Television film
1995	'	Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell	Television film
1996	Muppets Tonight	Himself	Season 1, Episode 4
1999	Now and Again	Michael Wiseman	Episode: "Origins"
1999	'	Meathook	Voice Episode: "Take My Wife, Sleaze"
1999	Futurama	Robot Santa	Voice Episode: "Xmas Story"
2000	Normal, Ohio	William "Butch" Gamble	13 Episodes
2001	When Dinosaurs Roamed America	Narrator	Voice Discovery Channel documentary
2003"2004	'	Glen Allen Walken	Four Episodes
2004	Father of the Pride	Larry	Voice only 15 episodes
2004"2005	Center of the Universe	John Barnett	10 episodes
2006	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	Judge Bobby Bebe	Episodes: "Nevada Day: Part I & II"
2007	King of the Hill	Tommy	Episode: "SerPUNt"
2010	You Don't Know Jack	Neal Nicol
2010"2011	Treme	Creighton Bernette	11 episodes
2011	Damages	Howard T. Erickson	Season 4
2011"2012	Community	Vice Dean Robert Laybourne	6 episodes
2012	Dancing on the Edge	Masterson	5 episodes
2012	SpongeBob SquarePants	Santa Claus	Voice Episode: "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"
2013	Alpha House	Gil John Biggs
2013	The Book of Manning	Narrator	ESPN Original Film

Video game roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Pyst	King Mattruss	Voice
2002	Monsters Inc. Scream Arena	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan	Voice
2007	Cars Mater-National Championship	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan Truck	Voice
2009	Cars Race-O-Rama	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan Truck	Voice
2011	Rage	Dan Hagar	Voice

Discography

Guest Appearance

• "Candy" (1999) -Chimes

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1989	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	Sea of Love
1989	People's Choice Awards	"Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program"	Roseanne
1989	American Comedy Awards	"Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication"	Roseanne
1989	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1989	Golden Globe Awards	"Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series " Comedy/Musical"	Roseanne
1990	American Comedy Awards	"Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication"	Roseanne
1990	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1990	Golden Globe Awards	"Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series " Comedy/Musical"	Roseanne
1991	Saturn Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	Arachnophobia
1991	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1991	Golden Globe Awards	"Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series " Comedy/Musical"	Roseanne
1991	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	Barton Fink
1991	New York Film Critics Circle Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	Barton Fink
1992	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1992	Golden Globe Awards	"Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture"	Barton Fink
1992	Viewers For Quality Television Awards	"Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1993	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1993	Golden Globe Awards	"Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series " Comedy/Musical"	Roseanne
1994	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1995	Screen Actors Guild Awards	"Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1995	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series"	Roseanne
1995	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special"	Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long
1996	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special"	'
1999	Satellite Awards	"Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture " Comedy or Musical"	'
2001	People's Choice Awards	"Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series"	Normal, Ohio
2002	World Soundtrack Awards	"Best Original Song Written for a Film"	Monsters, Inc.
2004	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	"Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie"	'
2007	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series"	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
2007	TV Land Awards	"Favorite Elvis Impersonation"	Roseanne
2008	TV Land Awards	"Innovator"	Roseanne
2010	Black Reel Awards	"Best Ensemble"	'
2010	Emmy Awards	"Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseies or TV Movie"	You Don't Know Jack
2011	Screen Actors Guild Awards	"Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries"	You Don't Know Jack
2011	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	"Best Cast"	'
2011	St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	'
2012	Screen Actors Guild Awards	"Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture"	'
2012	20/20 Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	Barton Fink
2012	St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	Argo
2012	Satellite Awards	"Best Supporting Actor"	Flight
2013	Screen Actors Guild Awards	"Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture"	Argo