John Goodman names his favourite co-star of all time: “My acting hero”
For the last four decades, John Goodman has lived up to his billing as one of the modern era’s finest character actors, and being a character actor generally means you get to share an ensemble with the biggest stars and best performers in the business.
As a result, he’s rubbed shoulders with some of the greats on either side of the camera. Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Peter O’Toole, the Coen brothers, Samuel L Jackson, Nicolas Cage, Elizabeth Taylor, Jeff Bridges, Morgan Freeman, and Clint Eastwood, just some of the names he’s shared a cast with.
In addition to being one of his generation’s most reliable talents, apart from the rare occasions he, in his own words, whores himself out for the paycheque, Goodman is also one of the most prolific, amassing well over 200 credits, covering film, television, theatre, commercials, and video games.
That means he’s worked with an awful lot of people, so it means something when he calls one of them his “acting hero.” He may have waited almost 40 years for the opportunity to spar with Alan Arkin, but it wasn’t him. Instead, it was a co-star he was more familiar with than most, having spent years in their company.
Goodman became a household name through his nine-season stint as Dan Conner on Roseanne, notching seven Primetime Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nods for his efforts. Laurie Metcalf was there for the duration, taking third billing behind Goodman and Roseanne Barr as Jackie Harris.
When the sitcom’s revival was refitted into the spinoff, The Conners, Metcalf remained on board, and Goodman was beside himself to continue their working relationship. “My acting hero, Laurie Metcalf, was worth the price of admission,” he told People. “It was worth showing up every day for work, just to see what that woman could do.”
An Academy Award, Bafta, and three-time Golden Globe nominee with two Tonys and four Primetime Emmys under her belt, Metcalf has been a fixture of stage and screen for almost half a century, even if she found her widest audience, ratings-wise, on sitcoms like Roseanne, The Conners, and The Big Bang Theory. Make no mistake, though, she’s one of the best around.
Goodman would agree, since he’s been enthralled with her talents since the late 1980s. “She’s magic,” he added. “She’s just amazing. “And, god, she made me laugh. You know, my jaw would drop when I’d watch her. She’s so good.” He’s not the biggest fan of praising himself, but he’s got no issues lavishing it on other people.
He’s collaborated with the great and the good, the A-listers and the method actors, and the titans and heavyweights of thespianism, but Goodman can’t see past Metcalf as the best he’s shared a set with.
