# John Goodman
**John Goodman** is an American film, television, and stage actor best known for playing [Dan Conner](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-conner) on the ABC sitcom *Roseanne* (1988–1997), a role that brought him seven Emmy nominations and a 1993 Golden Globe Award, and for his work with the [Coen brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/coen-brothers) in films including *Raising Arizona*, *Barton Fink*, *The Big Lebowski*, and *O Brother, Where Art Thou?*[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/john-goodman). Born in 1952 in Affton, Missouri, he has also voiced James P. "Sulley" Sullivan in Pixar's *Monsters, Inc.* and continued as a television lead into the 2020s on *The Conners* and *The Righteous Gemstones*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/john-goodman) • [3](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-74-called-unrecognizable-in-photo-with-david-deluise/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952, Affton, Missouri, just outside St. Louis[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman) • [4](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/) |
| Signature TV role | Dan Conner on *Roseanne* (1988–1997); seven Emmy nominations 1989–1995 and a Best Actor Golden Globe in 1993[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman) |
| Emmy win | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, 2007, as Judge Robert Bebe on *Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/john-goodman) |
| Coen brothers films | Six collaborations, including *Raising Arizona* (1987), *Barton Fink* (1991), *The Big Lebowski*, *O Brother, Where Art Thou?*, and *Inside Llewyn Davis*[5](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/05/john-goodman-many-times-i-could-have-gone-under-interview-american-buffalo) |
| Voice work | Sulley in *Monsters, Inc.* (2001) and *Monsters University* (2013)[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/john-goodman) • [4](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/) |
| Later TV leads | Dan Conner in *The Conners* (2018–2025); Eli Gemstone in HBO's *The Righteous Gemstones* (2019–2025)[3](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-74-called-unrecognizable-in-photo-with-david-deluise/) |
| Stage | Pap Finn in the Tony-winning Broadway musical *Big River* (1985), Drama Desk nomination; Broadway's *The Front Page* (2016); West End debut in Mamet's *American Buffalo* (2015)[4](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/) • [6](https://abc.com/cast/15d32053-542f-441f-b276-88bf78280129) |
## Early life and training
Goodman was born in Affton, Missouri, to Leslie Goodman, a postal worker, and Virginia Goodman, a waitress. His father died of a heart attack when Goodman was two years old, leaving his mother to raise him and his siblings alone[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman). At Affton High School he excelled in football and dabbled in theater, and after graduating in 1970 he took a football scholarship to Southwest Missouri State University. An injury ended his hopes of a professional sports career, and he changed his major to drama, studying alongside future actors [Kathleen Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathleen-turner) and [Tess Harper](https://www.edgepedia.org/tess-harper). He graduated with a theater degree in 1975[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman).
That year he left for New York with a $1,000 loan from his brother, working as a bartender and waiter while taking small commercial and voice-over jobs[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman) • [6](https://abc.com/cast/15d32053-542f-441f-b276-88bf78280129). In 1978 he appeared on Broadway in *Loose Ends* alongside [Dennis Quaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-quaid), Bruce Willis, and [Kevin Kline](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-kline), though the play failed to find an audience[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman). His apprenticeship also included dinner theater, [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) productions, and children's shows[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-15-ca-3546-story.html).
## Stage breakthrough and early film work
In 1985 Goodman starred as Pap Finn in the Tony-winning Broadway musical *Big River*, a performance that brought a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and, by his own account, marked the turning point of his career[4](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-15-ca-3546-story.html). That role led to his first sizable film part, the Texas bachelor in [David Byrne](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-byrne)'s comedy *True Stories* (1986), which in turn led to the Coen brothers' *Raising Arizona* (1987), in which he appeared with [Nicolas Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-cage)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman).
## Roseanne
While acting in a 1987 Los Angeles stage production of *Antony and Cleopatra*, Goodman was spotted by an ABC talent scout and cast opposite comedian [Roseanne Barr](https://www.edgepedia.org/roseanne-barr) in a new sitcom about a blue-collar Midwestern family. He played Dan Conner, the jovial, tough-loving father and foil to Barr's sharp-witted mother, and the show became an overnight hit[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman). *Roseanne* aired between 1988 and 1997, and during the 1989 to 1990 seasons it stood as America's highest-rated television program.[8](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/arts-and-entertainment/john-goodman-actor) Goodman received seven Emmy nominations for the role between 1989 and 1995 and won the 1993 Golden Globe for Best Actor[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman). He later described the set as "like this big dysfunctional family," saying the show was great fun at first and then trouble[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/oct/26/john-goodman-argo-ben-affleck).
During the run he built a parallel film career: the [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)-produced thriller *Arachnophobia* (1990), the comedy *King Ralph* (1991), the Coen brothers' *Barton Fink* (1991), the [Babe Ruth](https://www.edgepedia.org/babe-ruth) biopic *The Babe* (1992), and the live-action *The Flintstones* (1994)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman). He also produced and starred in the made-for-TV biopic *Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long* (1995), earning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a [Miniseries](https://www.edgepedia.org/miniseries) or Special, and received a ninth Emmy nod for the CBS remake of *A Streetcar Named Desire*[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman). His growing film career led him to leave *Roseanne* at the end of its eighth season[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman).
## The Coen brothers and film career
Goodman's association with the Coen brothers became a defining thread of his film work. The Guardian counts six collaborations, including *The Hudsucker Proxy*, *O Brother, Where Art Thou?*, and *Inside Llewyn Davis*[5](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/05/john-goodman-many-times-i-could-have-gone-under-interview-american-buffalo). His roles range from the escaped convict Gale Snoats in *Raising Arizona* to the congenial murderer Madman Mundt in *Barton Fink*, the bowling-obsessed Vietnam veteran Walter Sobchak in *The Big Lebowski*, and the one-eyed Bible salesman Big Dan Teague in *O Brother, Where Art Thou?*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/john-goodman). *The Big Lebowski* earned him rave reviews and became a cult classic; sources differ on its release year, with Biography.com giving 1997 and IMDb, D23, and PBS giving 1998[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman) • [4](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/).
His range extends across comedy, drama, and voice work. He voiced Sulley in Pixar's *Monsters, Inc.* (2001)[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/john-goodman), played a CIA contact in [Ben Affleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-affleck)'s *Argo* (2012), which won the [Academy Award for Best Picture](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-picture), and appeared in Robert Zemeckis's *Flight* the same year, winning the 2013 National Board of Review Spotlight Award for his work in *Argo*, *Flight*, and *Trouble with the Curve*[6](https://abc.com/cast/15d32053-542f-441f-b276-88bf78280129). Later credits include *10 Cloverfield Lane*, *Atomic Blonde*, *Kong: Skull Island*, and *Patriots Day*[6](https://abc.com/cast/15d32053-542f-441f-b276-88bf78280129). The Los Angeles Times described him in 1988 as a 6-foot-3 character actor who thinks of himself as an everyman, and critics have since noted his fluid shifts between comedy and pathos[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-15-ca-3546-story.html) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/05/john-goodman-many-times-i-could-have-gone-under-interview-american-buffalo).
## Later television and stage
Goodman returned to the role of Dan Conner in the 2018 *Roseanne* revival, which was cut short after one season following Roseanne Barr's firing, and continued as Conner in the spinoff *The Conners* from 2018 to 2025[3](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-74-called-unrecognizable-in-photo-with-david-deluise/). From 2019 to 2025 he played Eli Gemstone, the lead pastor of a megachurch family of televangelists, in HBO's *The Righteous Gemstones*[3](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-74-called-unrecognizable-in-photo-with-david-deluise/). His other television credits include HBO's *You Don't Know Jack*, Amazon's *Alpha House*, and NBC's *Community*[6](https://abc.com/cast/15d32053-542f-441f-b276-88bf78280129).
On stage, he returned to Broadway in 2016 in the revival of *The Front Page* with Nathan Lane and John Slattery, and made his West End debut in David Mamet's *American Buffalo* at London's Wyndham's Theatre[6](https://abc.com/cast/15d32053-542f-441f-b276-88bf78280129). In 2013 he was named a Disney Legend for film and television[4](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/).
## Personal life
Goodman met his wife, Anna Beth, a New Orleans native, during the filming of *Everybody's All-American* (1988), and the couple relocated to New Orleans soon after[4](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/). In 2007 he checked into a rehabilitation center to get sober, later saying that alcohol had been becoming life or death and that it was time to stop[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/oct/26/john-goodman-argo-ben-affleck). In 2016 he told ABC News that his motivation for losing weight was that he had grown tired of looking at himself in the mirror[3](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-74-called-unrecognizable-in-photo-with-david-deluise/). A 2026 appearance at the London premiere of his film *Digger*, where he appeared roughly 200 pounds lighter, drew widespread attention[10](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-shows-off-200-pound-weight-loss-in-sleek-tuxedo-at-digger-premiere/).
## References
1. [John Goodman – Movies, Big Lebowski & Roseanne, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/john-goodman)
2. [John Goodman | Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/john-goodman)
3. [John Goodman, 74, Appears 'Unrecognizable' in Candid New Photo, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-74-called-unrecognizable-in-photo-with-david-deluise/)
4. [John Goodman – Disney Legends, D23](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/john-goodman/)
5. [John Goodman: 'There were many times I could have gone under', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/05/john-goodman-many-times-i-could-have-gone-under-interview-american-buffalo)
6. [John Goodman | The Conners cast biography, ABC](https://abc.com/cast/15d32053-542f-441f-b276-88bf78280129)
7. [The Actor as Everyman, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-15-ca-3546-story.html)
8. [John Goodman (actor), EBSCO Research Starters](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/arts-and-entertainment/john-goodman-actor)
9. [John Goodman: 'Alcohol was becoming life or death. It was time to stop', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/oct/26/john-goodman-argo-ben-affleck)
10. [John Goodman Shows Off 200-Pound Weight Loss in Sleek Tuxedo, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-goodman-shows-off-200-pound-weight-loss-in-sleek-tuxedo-at-digger-premiere/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames G to Go*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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