10 Things Everyone Should Know About America’s Favorite Dad, John Goodman

If John Goodman wanted to host SNL every week, he could. Or if not host, at least show up in one sketch, playing whichever large, loud man Bobby Moynihan isn’t capable of pulling off. Goodman is, well, that good, which is why he’s hosted or appeared on the show 12 times, though none since 2001. That changes this Saturday, when he scratches a 13th notch onto his gigantic belt. (Looking at the musical guests from his episodes is a testament to the good — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Neil Young, the Pretenders — and SO bad. Sorry, Garth Books and Jewel.) Here are a few things everyone should know about Dan Conner, who pulled off flannel like no other.

1. Three years before his first on-screen role, Goodman appeared in a print advertisement for Arrow Schnapps.

2. In 1983, Goodman got his first movie (Eddie Macon’s Run) and TV gig (The Face of Rage). But more importantly, he also showed up in a McDonald’s commercial, where he had no lines but happily devoured an Egg McMuffin. Also in that ad: the future Mrs. Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally. At least she got to speak.

3. George Clooney wasn’t on Roseanne for very long, but he left quite the ballsy impression (sorry). According to George Clooney: The Last Great Movie, a title that makes Bill Simmons SO hard, Goodman allegedly took a photo of Clooney’s balls “disguised” with Groucho Marx glasses, and put it on a fridge. The book adds, “Roseanne…has confirmed that the Polaroid hung on the set refrigerator for years before mysteriously disappearing one day.”

4. Walter Sobchak yelling at Steve Buscemi’s Donny wasn’t JUST an excuse for Goodman to yell, which is never not funny; it’s actually in reference to Buscemi’s Fargo character, Carl, who never SHUT THE F*CK UP, DONNY.

5. He owns a house in New Orleans. Who did he buy it from? None other than Mr. Trent Reznor.

6. Guy actually had to LOSE weight to play Babe Ruth in The Babe. Peak Ruth weighed 254 pounds.

7. Goodman is well aware that he’s not a leading man; he’s a character actor through and through, even back in 1991…when he was the lead in King Ralph. He told the Los Angeles Times, “I don’t think anybody’s ready to pay good money to see me get the girl in the movie. I know I wouldn’t go see something like that.”

8. He was quite the stud in high school.

9. He’s been sober since 2007, when things got so bad, “I’d have to have a drink to get through [a] show. I’m lucky I never got fired…It was terrible for my family. If I’d picture in my mind a drink, usually straight out of the bottle, I couldn’t not do it.” He now tries to attend an AA meeting every morning.

10. And lastly, Goodman has roles in the last two Best Picture winners, The Artist and Argo, which bodes very well for his new film, the incredible Inside Llewyn Davis.

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