The actor John Goodman swore he’d never speak to again: “I would hate for somebody to do that to me”
Even though he’s played his fair share of psychopaths, sociopaths, tyrants, terrors, and villains on the big screen, John Goodman has always been known as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood.
The definition of a gentle giant, few can play cantankerous anywhere near as well as the celebrated character actor, but away from the bright lights of a film or television set, he’s always been a quiet, introspective, and even shy and retiring personality.
When the cameras are rolling, though, watching Goodman blow his top is a thing of beauty. He’s gone off the rails in everything from his multiple collaborations with the Coen brothers to The Righteous Gemstones via 10 Cloverfield Lane, and seeing the star go absolutely nuts is never less than a delight.
More than 40 years deep into his career, Goodman hasn’t made any notable enemies in the industry. However, there’s one person he swore he’d never speak to again, but in keeping with his reputation, it’s rooted more in embarrassment than vindictiveness after he confessed to making a total arse of himself.
Despite being one of the most prolific hosts in Saturday Night Live history with 13 appearances to his name, the Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy winner never crossed paths with Kristen Wiig on the show, with her seven-year tenure between 2005 and 2012 bypassing Goodman’s two most recent hosting gigs, which came in 2001 and 2013.
He was a fan of her work, though, and his appreciation only increased when she left SNL behind and set her sights on conquering cinema, which got off to a fantastic start when she earned an Academy Award nomination for co-writing Bridesmaids, which also landed her on the Golden Globes shortlist for ‘Best Actress – Musical or Comedy’.
All Goodman wanted to do was tell her that at a party, which didn’t go as planned. “She was talking to somebody else, and I was just, I think she’s so great, and the social barriers broke down, and I interrupted the conversation,” he told Howard Stern. “And I would just hate for somebody to do that to me.”
Realising he’d made a social faux pas, Wiig summarily brushed him off. “And she goes, ‘Yeah, I’ll talk to you in a minute,'” he reflected. “It was like the Atom. I shrunk down to Atom size. I really like her, and it was embarrassing, so I’ll never speak to her again.”
It’s on-band for someone like Goodman, who nobody’s ever said a bad word out in a professional capacity, to declare that there’s one actor in Hollywood he never wants to speak to again, and it’s all because of a mistake he made when he couldn’t contain his excitement at coming face to face with Wiig and decided that barging into the middle of her conversation was the best way to break the ice.
Maybe one day he’ll strike up the courage to atone for his sins, but as things stand, she remains on his no-talk list until he can overcome the lingering embarrassment that continues to haunt him of their ill-fated first meeting.
