John Goodman’s talent as an actor remains unquestionable. Still, his weight loss story has raised many eyebrows, and fans wonder how the formerly overweight actor turned his life around to look healthier.
Since the ’80s, John Goodman has been a regular star on movie screens. He is mostly known for his role as Dan Connor on the classic comedy “Roseanne,” for which he received multiple Emmy nominations.
Goodman’s career did not start all rosy. He spent his early years playing smaller roles until he got his big break in 1987. Since then, the “Big River” actor has appeared in other successful movie roles.
While his career has been amazing, Goodman has made a new name for himself in recent years and has become known as the actor who changed his life by losing an incredible amount of weight. Here is his life and weight loss story.
EARLY DAYS AND CAREER
The funny 69-year-old was born in 1952 in Affton, Missouri, as John Stephen Goodman. His parents had humble professions; his father, Leslie, was a postal worker while his mom, Virginia, worked as a waitress.
Goodman experienced tragedy when he was 2-years-old, his father died of a heart attack. He and his siblings were then raised by their struggling mother.
Virginia prioritized her children’s education, and as a result, Goodman attended Affton High School, where he was a standout football player who also ventured into theater as a second hobby. He received a football scholarship at Southwest Missouri State University after graduating from high school in 1970.
Being touted as a possible star, Goodman was largely popular among his peers and spent much of his first year partying and playing football. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury that ended his hopes of pursuing a professional football career.
Following his injury and the end of his sporting dreams, Goodman switched his career ambition and course to drama and studied with well-known actors like Kathleen Turner and Tess Harper.
Goodman received his theater degree in 1975 and moved to New York to pursue a career as an actor. Adapting to his new life, he secured an apartment in the theater district of Manhattan with the help of a loan he got from his brother.
The actor picked up odd jobs to support himself as an upcoming actor, including working as a bartender and waiter while doing commercials and voiceovers on the side.
In 1978, he appeared in the Broadway production of “Loose Ends ” alongside Dennis Quaid, Bruce Willis, and Kevin Kline, but the play failed to captivate spectators and was considered a huge failure.
Goodman’s career took off in earnest in the early 1980s, when he secured a slew of television and film roles, including roles in Eddie Macon’s 1982 “Run” and the 1983 movie “Face of Rage.”
He made his Broadway debut as Pap Finn in the Tony-winning musical “Big River” in 1985 and stayed with the show until he was cast in his first major film role, in David Byrne’s “True Stories.”
He enjoyed more success, but the biggest of all came when an ABC talent scout saw him performing in a theatrical performance of “Antony and Cleopatra” in Los Angeles in 1987. He was then recruited for a role on then new television sitcom, “Roseanne.”
“Roseanne,” starring Roseanne Barr, was a sitcom that followed the ups and downs of a regular Midwestern family. Goodman was cast as the joyful, tough-loving father.
The comedy became an instant hit and a career-defining move for Goodman. Between 1989 and 1995, he was nominated for seven Emmy Awards and won the Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993.
Asides from his talent as an actor, Goodman is known for his big stature. In an interview with David Letterman, the actor admitted he was almost pushing towards 400 pounds thanks to his unhealthy relationship with food.
In an interview, Goodman admitted he was eating addictively during his younger days which he said was triggered by the loneliness he felt as a child following the death of his father and the frequent absence of his mom.
Goodman had several bad habits that made him unhealthy aside from food which he had to give up to stay healthy. He was an alcoholic and was often drunk on the set of his movies. Goodman attributes his weight to his drinking. He told Hoda Kotb in 2018:
“I was not only drinking alcoholically, I was eating alcoholically. Anytime I didn’t have something in my mouth, something was wrong.”
His bad habits became a bad reputation for him. In 2007, Goodman decided he had had enough of his bad ways and decided to change. He started by dropping his age-long romance with alcohol.
Goodman’s weight loss journey became a little easier once he got sober. However, to see results, he had to make more extreme alterations.
Goodman has retained his impressive new weight, all thanks to his diet. According to the actor, he stopped shoving everything into his mouth and applied more discipline where eating is concerned.
He also sought the guidance of his personal trainer, Mackie Shilstone, to figure out which foods would be beneficial to him.
Goodman follows a Mediterranean diet that is primarily plant-based, low in red meat, high in fruits and vegetables, and heavily reliant on olive oil. In addition to his healthy eating, Goodman revealed he works out six days weekly and has since lost 100 pounds.
Since reprising his role as Dan Conner in 2018, he hasn’t displayed any indications of gaining weight. He appears to attribute his continued sobriety to embracing a philosophy that supports healthy living.
Before this time, Goodman noted he would set aside a few months to work on his health and return to his unhealthy lifestyle afterward. Having found new inspiration, he intends to continue staying healthy, and his fans can’t stop talking about his new look; they love it!