
John Goodman
Biography
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Vanity Fair has called Goodman "among our very finest actors."
Goodman is known for his collaborations with the Coen brothers, acting in films such as Raising Arizona (1987), Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). He took on leading roles in King Ralph (1991), The Babe (1992), Matinee (1993), The Flintstones (1994), and 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016). Goodman also had supporting roles in Revenge of the Nerds (1984), True Stories (1986), Sea of Love (1989), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Storytelling (2001), Speed Racer (2008), The Artist (2011), Flight (2012), Argo (2012), The Hangover Part III (2013), and Atomic Blonde (2017). He has voiced roles in The Emperor's New Groove franchise (2000–2008), the Monsters, Inc. franchise (2001–present), The Jungle Book 2 (2003), and Bee Movie (2007).
On television, Goodman gained recognition by playing the family patriarch Dan Conner in the comedy series Roseanne (1988–1997; 2018) and The Conners (2018–present). Goodman had regular roles in the HBO drama series Treme (2010–2011), the legal drama series Damages (2011), the political comedy series Alpha House (2013–2014), and the HBO comedy series The Righteous Gemstones (2019–present). He has been a frequent host of Saturday Night Live (1989–2013) and has guest starred in The West Wing (2003–2004), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006), and Community (2011–2012).
Goodman started his career at The Public Theatre, acting in numerous productions, including Henry IV, Part 1 (1981), The Skin of Our Teeth (1998), and The Seagull (2001). He made his Broadway debut in Big River (1985), for which Goodman received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical nomination. He returned to Broadway in revivals of the Samuel Becket play Waiting for Godot (2009) and the newspaper comedy The Front Page (2016). Goodman debuted his West End in a revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo (2015).
Gallery







Known For
Acting History
2026
Judy
2025Monsters Funday Football as Sulley (Voice)
2025A Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever as Doodle (voice)
2025Not So Fast, My Friend: A Lee Corso Special as Self (archive footage)
2025Smurfs as Papa Smurf (voice)
2023Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
2023Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain as Narrator (voice)
2023Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as Bill Randa
2023Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as Bill Randa (archive footage)
2021The Freak Brothers as Fat Freddy Freekowtski (voice)
2021Monsters at Work as Sulley (voice)
2020Easy Does It as "Catfish" Crawford (voice)
2019The Righteous Gemstones as Eli Gemstone
2019Chris Farley: Anything for a Laugh
2019Biography: Comedy Icons as Self
2019Captive State as William Mulligan
2018Real Life as Louis Fyne
2018The Conners as Dan Conner
2018Black Earth Rising as Michael Ennis
2018Black Baby as Walter Sobchak (archive footage)
2017Atomic Blonde as Emmett Kurzfeld
2017Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets as Igon Siruss (voice)
2017Transformers: The Last Knight as Hound (voice)
2017Once Upon a Time in Venice as Dave Phillips
2017Kong: Skull Island as Bill Randa
2017Bunyan and Babe as Paul Bunyan (voice)
2017New Orleans: The First 300 Years as Narrator
2016Patriots Day as Commisioner Ed Davis
2016Ratchet & Clank as Grimroth (voice)
201610 Cloverfield Lane as Howard
2015Love the Coopers as Sam Cooper
2015Trumbo as Frank King
2015Live from New York! as Self
2015Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle as Hal Houston (voice)
2015Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead as Self - Actor
2014The Gambler as Frank
2014All-Stars as Himself
2014Evolution Within Extinction as Self
2014Transformers: Age of Extinction as Hound (voice)
2014Inside 'Inside Llewyn Davis' as Self
2014Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
2014Party Central as Sullivan (voice)
2014Off Camera with Sam Jones as Self
2014The Monuments Men as Sgt. Walter Garfield
2013Wolfpack Only: The Hangover Retrospective as Self
2013Inside Llewyn Davis as Roland Turner
2013The Book of Manning as Narrator
2013Monsters University as Sullivan (voice)
2013The Internship as Sammy Boscoe (uncredited)
2013The Hangover Part III as Marshall
2013Alpha House as Senator Gil John Biggs
2013Milius as Self
2013Dancing on the Edge as Masterson
2012Argo as John Chambers
2012Trouble with the Curve as Pete Klein
2012It's a SpongeBob Christmas! as Santa Claus
2012The Campaign as Congressman Scott Talley (uncredited)
2012ParaNorman as Mr. Prenderghast (voice)
2012Drunkboat as Mr. Fletcher
2012The Artist: The Making of an American Romance as Self
2012Flight as Harling Mays
2012Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen as (archive footage)
2012All Star Bowling Trick Shots
2011Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as Stan the Doorman
2011The Artist as Al Zimmer
2011Ole War Skule: The Story of Saturday Night as Narrator
2011Red State as Joseph Keenan
2010You Don't Know Jack as Neal Nicol
2010Best Food Ever as Narrator
2010Treme
2010Treme as Creighton Bernette
2009The Princess and the Frog as "Big Daddy" La Bouff (voice)
2009Beyond All Boundaries as Capt. Edwin Simmons
2009Alabama Moon as Mr. Wellington
2009Pope Joan as Pope Sergius II.
2009Community as Vice Dean Laybourne
2009In the Electric Mist as Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni
2009Confessions of a Shopaholic as Graham Bloomwood
2009Girls Gone Gangsta as Mortimer J Hamm
2008Fats Domino: Walkin' Back to New Orleans as Narrator (voice)
2008Gigantic as Happy's Father
2008Speed Racer as Pops Racer
2007Bee Movie as Layton T. Montgomery (voice)
2007Death Sentence as Bones Darley
2007The Pixar Story as James 'Sulley' Sullivan (voice) (archive footage)
2007Damages as Howard Erickson
2007Evan Almighty as Congressman Long
2007Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation as Self
2007Boulevard of Broken Dreams as Self (archive footage)
2006The Year Without a Santa Claus as Santa Claus
2006Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as Judge Robert Bebe
2006Cars as Sullivan Truck (voice)
2006The Emperor's New School as Pacha (voice)
2006Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School as Steve Mills
2006Tales of the Rat Fink as Ed Roth (voice)
2005Kronk's New Groove as Pacha (voice)
2005Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast as Self - Presenter
2005The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self
2004Beyond the Sea as Steve Blauner
2004Center of the Universe as John Barnett
2004Father of the Pride as Larry (voice)
2004Clifford's Really Big Movie as George Wolfsbottom (voice)
2004Freshman Orientation as Rodney
2003The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self
2003Masked and Anonymous as Uncle Sweetheart
2003Overnight as Self
2003The Jungle Book 2 as Baloo (voice)
2002The Sweatbox as Self
2002Dirty Deeds as Tony
2002Mike's New Car as Sulley (voice)
2001Storytelling as Marty Livingston
2001Monsters, Inc. as Sullivan (voice)
2001My First Mister as Benjamin
2001When Dinosaurs Roamed America as Narrator
2001On the Edge as The Dean (segment "Happy Birthday")
2001One Night at McCool's as Detective Dehling
2001The Firesign Theatre: Weirdly Cool as Self
2000The Emperor's New Groove as Pacha (voice)
2000Normal, Ohio as William "Butch" Gamble
2000Ed as Big Rudy
2000O Brother, Where Art Thou? as Big Dan Teague
2000Coyote Ugly as Bill
2000The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle as Oklahoma Cop
2000Pigs Next Door as Phil (voice)
2000What Planet Are You From? as Roland Jones
1999Bringing Out the Dead as Larry Verber
1999Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special as Self
1999Now and Again
1999Now and Again as Michael Wiseman
1999The West Wing as Glenallen Walken
1999The Runner as Deepthroat
1999SpongeBob SquarePants as Santa Claus (voice)
1999The Jack Bull as Judge Tolliver
1999Futurama as Robot Santa Claus (voice)
1999Dancing Outlaw II: Jesco Goes to Hollywood as Himself
1998The Making of 'The Big Lebowski' as Self
1998Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie as Santa Claus (voice)
1998The Real Macaw as Mac (voice)
1998Dirty Work as Mayor Adrian Riggins (uncredited)
1998The Big Lebowski as Walter Sobchak
1998Blues Brothers 2000 as Mighty Mack McTeer
1998Fallen as Jonesy
1997The Borrowers as Ocious P. Potter
1997Soul Man as Capt. Stan Hamel
1997King of the Hill as Tommy (voice)
1996Mother Night as Major Frank Wirtanen
1996Saturday Night Special
1996Muppets Tonight as Self
1996Pie in the Sky as Alan Davenport
1996Ruby Wax Meets
1995A Streetcar Named Desire as Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell
1995The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies as Self
1995Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long as Huey P. Long, Jr.
1994Inside the Actors Studio as Self
1994Downwardly Mobile
1994The Flintstones as Fred Flintstone
1994Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! as Tough Guy Helpline Operator
1994The Hudsucker Proxy as Newsreel Announcer (voice)
1993We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story as Rex (voice)
1993Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration as Self(segment "New Way to Walk")
1993Grace Under Fire as Police Officer
1993Frosty Returns as Frosty the Snowman (voice)
1993Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
1993Born Yesterday as Harry Brock
1993Matinee as Lawrence Woolsey
1992The Jackie Thomas Show as Dan Conner
1992The Babe as Babe Ruth
1991Barton Fink as Charlie Meadows
1991King Ralph as Ralph Hampton Gainesworth Jones
1990Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash as Self - Host
1990Arachnophobia as Delbert McClintock
1990Stella as Ed Munn
1990Grand as Red
1989Always as Al Yackey
1989The Simpsons as Meathook (voice)
1989Sea of Love as Sherman
1988Everybody's All-American as Lawrence
1988Roseanne as Dan Conner
1988Punchline as John Krytsick
1988LIVE with Kelly and Mark as Self - Guest
1988The Wrong Guys as Duke Earle
1988Talking Heads: Storytelling Giant as Cowboy singer ("Wild Wild Life")
1987Murder Ordained as Hugh Rayburn
1987Murder Ordained as Hugh Rayburn
1987Burglar as Detective Nyswander
1987Raising Arizona as Gale
1986The Big Easy as Andre DeSoto
1986True Stories as Louis Fyne
1985Sweet Dreams as Otis
1985The Equalizer as Harold Winter
1985Moonlighting as Donald Chase
1984C.H.U.D. as Cop in Diner
1984Revenge of the Nerds as Coach Harris
1984Maria's Lovers as Frank
1983Heart of Steel as Raymond Bohupinsky
1983Chiefs as Newt 'Tub' Murray
1983The Survivors as Commando
1983Eddie Macon's Run as Mr. Hebert
1983The Face of Rage as Fred
1980The Robber Bridegroom as Townsperson
1980The Mystery of the Morro Castle as Telegraph Operator
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1967CMA Awards as Self
1962The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
1953The Oscars as Self
1944Golden Globe Awards as Self - Winner
—Chili Finger








