John Goodman : Biography, Pictures, Photos, Trivia, Address, Filmography (Roseanne)

Tubby, jovial actor who brings an unusual degree of intelligence to his roles, even when playing morons. Formally trained (one of his college acting classmates was Kathleen Turner), Goodman began his movie career ignobly with small roles in the likes of C.H.U.D and Revenge of the Nerds (both 1984). He quickly graduated to better roles in better movies, portraying a hapless guy advertising for a wife in True Stories (1986), one of the lunatic prison escapees in Raising Arizona (1987), and the sad, aging exfootballer in Everybody's All-American (1988). That same year, he hit the big time (on TV, anyway) as the good-natured husband/father in the hit sitcom "Roseanne." By now established as a top character actor, Goodman landed key costarring roles as Sally Field's husband in Punchline (1988), a sanguine New York cop in Sea of Love (1989), a wisecracking flight instructor in Always (also 1989), and a comically macho exterminator in Arachnophobia (1990).

Despite his bulk, and his skill at limning unsympathetic characters, Goodman seems to strike a responsive chord when cast as an amiable slob-although that didn't make a success of his first starring vehicle, the tailor-made comedy King Ralph (1991), and it didn't keep the Coen brothers from making him a homicidal salesman in Barton Fink (1991). Goodman tackled the mythic character of baseball great Babe Ruth in The Babe (1992), earning excellent notices even from critics who didn't like the film. Another actor might have played the lead in Matinee (1993), that of a flamboyant movie huckster/producer, as a caricature; Goodman gave him warmth and likability. He also reinterpreted Broderick Crawford's performance as a self-made Harry Brock in the 1993 remake of Born Yesterday and contributed a voice to the animated We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story (also 1993). He was then cast-ideally, in most people's minds-as Fred Flintstone in the 1994 adaptation, The Flintstones. As a modernday Everyman, Goodman has unlimited potential.

. Creation date : 2003/07/01 by abdest

. On TV Guide : John Goodman Videos, Interviews, and Clips on TVGuide's Online Video Guide