John Goodman is best known for his role as Dan Conner in the hit TV comedy series Rosanne, where he starred next to Rosanne Barr. The role lasted nine years from 1988 to 1997 and Goodman played Rosanne’s husband. The couple had three children and the sitcom explored the problems that we all face as families. Before he landed the role in Rosanne, Goodman was no stranger to the acting world, having been in numerous TV series and movies from 1975. His first role was in a theatre show called 1776 in a small theatre now known as La Comedia Dinner Theatre in Miami.

After a few small parts here and there, John Goodman landed a role in The Big Easy and starred alongside Dennis Quaid in 1986, where he played Detective Andre DeSoto. Ned Beatty and Ellen Barkin also starred. Raising Arizona was his next big role, where he played Gale Snoates alongside Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter in 1987. He then landed the role of Delbert McClintock in the 1990 hit movie Arachnophobia. The movie also starred Jeff Daniels as Dr. Ross Jennings.

In 1991 he played Charlie Meadows in Barton Fink and starred alongside John Turturro. He then went on to take the lead role in The Babe as famous base ball player Babe Ruth, or George Herman Ruth, as his family knew him. Goodman then moved on to The Flintstones in 1994 where he played Fred Flintstone, and then Harold Mitchell in a Street Car named Desire in 1995. In 1997 he landed the lead role as Ocious Potter in the hit comedy The Borrowers which focused on a family of four inch tall people who go around “borrowing” from people’s homes.

Fallen was his next major role in 1998, where he got to play Jonesy, alongside Denzel Washington. The movie was an instant success and focused on John Hobbs, a homicide detective who bears witness to the murder of a convicted serial killer by the name of Edger Reese. Thinking that it is all over, the killings start up again and John realizes that it is Edger’s spirit that is possessing people to commit the murders for him. John and his partner, Jonesy (Goodman), stop at nothing to stop the murders, until Jonesy gets possessed by the spirit.

Enjoying the success of his career John Goodman went on to open the popular hit TV series Now and Again. He started out as the lead character named Michael Wiseman, until he is pushed in front of a moving train and dies, the government then steals his body to conduct experiments on. Wiseman then returns to life, only now played by actor Eric Close. John Goodman guest starred in two episodes, the first, titled Origins in 1999, and then reprises the character, Original Wiseman, in 2000 in the episode Deep in My Heart is a Song. John Goodman then went on to star in movies like Coyote Ugly, Monster Inc., The Jungle Book 2, Cars, Death Sentence, Evan Almighty, Bee Movie, and also starred in the hit series the West Wing from 2003 – 2004.