John Goodman

John Stephen Goodman (June 20, 1952, Affton, Missouri, USA) is an American actor. Early in his career, he was best known for playing Dan Conner on the ABC TV series Roseanne (1988–1997), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in 1993. He is also a regular collaborator with the Coen brothers on such films as Raising Arizona (1987), Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Goodman's voice roles in animated films include Pacha in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove (2000), and Sulley in Pixar's Monsters, Inc. (2001), and Monsters University (2013).
His other film performances include lead roles in The Babe (1992), The Flintstones (1994) and 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) and supporting roles in Coyote Ugly (2000), The Artist (2011), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011), Argo (2012), Flight (2012), The Hangover Part III (2013), and Patriots Day (2016). On television, he has had regular roles on Amazon Studios' Alpha House and on the first season of HBO's Treme and has been one of the most frequent hosts of Saturday Night Live, as well as playing guest roles on series such as Community. John Heilpern of Vanity Fair has called him "among our very finest actors".
After an injury ended his college football career, Goodman decided to become a professional actor and left Missouri for New York City in 1975. With a small bankroll from his brother, Goodman found an apartment near the Theater District and unsuccessfully tried to make money as a bartender and waiter. However, he eventually found modest success in voice-overs, commercials, and plays. He was the person who slapped himself (uttering the famous tagline, "Thanks... I needed that!") in an iconic television ad for Skin Bracer by Mennen. Goodman also performed off-Broadway and in dinner theatres, before landing character roles in film during the early 1980s.
In 1985, Goodman originated the role of Pap Finn in Big River. For his role, he received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical; he is also 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 series' "First Guest Medal" (Goodman joked he would pawn the medal for a bottle of cheap Scotch). Goodman has hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live 13 times, while also making seven cameo appearances as Linda Tripp during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and cameoing on the season 28 finale hosted by former SNL cast member Dan Aykroyd. With little to no prior experience in TV comedy, Goodman auditioned to be a cast member for Jean Doumanian's tumultuous 1980–1981 SNL season and was rejected, along with up-and-coming comedians Jim Carrey, Paul Reubens, and Robert Townsend.
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 acting 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 Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and, a year later, the voice of Sulley in Pixar's Monsters, Inc. In 2009, Goodman voiced "Big Daddy" La Bouff The Princess and the Frog. Goodman's voice can also be heard on an automated message system at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.