1980–1999: Film roles and Roseanne After graduating from SMSU, Goodman relocated to New York City. near the
Theater District and unsuccessfully tried to make money as a bartender and waiter. However, Goodman eventually found modest success in voice-overs, commercials, and plays. He was the person who slapped himself (uttering the
tagline, "Thanks... I needed that!") in a television ad for
Skin Bracer by
Mennen. he starred in the movie
Revenge of the Nerds, and later had a brief cameo as Otis in
Sweet Dreams. In the former film, his character Louis Fyne says "I'm 6' 3" and maintain a consistent
panda bear shape", establishing his trademark size as an important part of many characters he later played on film and stage. Goodman rose to fame in acting by playing the role of Dan Conner on the ABC sitcom
Roseanne from 1988 to 1997. He returned to the character in 2018 for the
revived, 10th season, where he said "Roseanne and I just went back to having a ball", Goodman has hosted
NBC's
Saturday Night Live 13 times, while also making seven
cameo appearances as
Linda Tripp during the
Monica Lewinsky scandal, three appearances as
Rex Tillerson, and cameoing on the season 28 finale hosted by former
SNL cast member
Dan Aykroyd. Goodman first worked with the
Coen brothers on
Raising Arizona (1987). He went on to appear in their films
Barton Fink (1991),
The Big Lebowski (1998),
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Only
Steve Buscemi has appeared in more Coen works (six films), though
Frances McDormand and
Jon Polito have also appeared in five of their films. He worked with
Steven Spielberg on
Always (1989) and had a supporting role in
Arachnophobia (1990). In 1993, he starred as a
William Castle-type filmmaker in
Matinee opposite
Cathy Moriarty, and in 1994 as
Fred Flintstone in
The Flintstones. Other films included
King Ralph (1991),
The Babe (1992),
Fallen (1998),
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), and
Bringing Out the Dead (1999).
2000–2009: Established star Goodman had guest roles on the
Aaron Sorkin television dramas
The West Wing and
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In the former, he appeared in four episodes, playing Speaker of the House and eventual acting president Glen Allen Walken. In the latter, Goodman appeared as
Pahrump, Nevada Judge Robert Bebe, earning a 2007
Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor – Drama Series for his performance. Goodman voiced
Robot Santa in the character's first appearance on
Futurama. Starting in 2007, he has been the voiceover in
Dunkin' Donuts commercials. In 2000, Goodman provided the voice of
Pacha in
Disney's ''
The Emperor's New Groove'' and, a year later, the voice of James P. "Sulley" Sullivan in
Pixar's
Monsters, Inc. He returned to the character for the film's 2013 prequel
Monsters University (2013), the 2021 Disney+ series
Monsters at Work, and for a 2024 update of the video game
Disney Dreamlight Valley. In 2007, Goodman voiced Layton T. Montgomery in
Bee Movie. Two years later, he voiced "Big Daddy" La Bouff in
The Princess and the Frog. Goodman's voice can also be heard on an automated message system at
St. Louis Lambert International Airport. He was the original voice of the yellow
M&M in 1995 before being replaced by
J. K. Simmons the following year. In theater, Goodman played the
Ghost of Christmas Present in the 2008
Kodak Theatre production of
A Christmas Carol, starring
Christopher Lloyd as
Ebenezer Scrooge. Goodman played the role of
Pozzo in a
Studio 54 revival of
Samuel Beckett's play
Waiting for Godot, opposite
Bill Irwin and
Nathan Lane. John Heilpern of
Vanity Fair called it "the greatest Pozzo I've ever seen." however, the series' option was not picked up by the network. During this time Goodman took prominent roles in films including
Flight (2012),
The Hangover Part III (2013),
The Monuments Men (2014),
Trumbo (2015),
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016),
Patriots Day (2016) and
Atomic Blonde (2017). Goodman also voiced Hound in
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and returned to the character in
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017). With his well-received supporting roles in
The Artist (2011) and
Argo (2012), Goodman accomplished the rare feat of appearing in back-to-back winners of the
Academy Award for Best Picture. On August 10, 2013, Goodman was inducted as a
Disney Legend. That same year, he received positive reviews for his performance as U.S. senator from North Carolina Gil John Biggs in Amazon's
Alpha House, a political comedy written by
Garry Trudeau. In the show, Goodman's character, a retired
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) basketball coach, and three other
Republican senators share a house on Capitol Hill. The show ended after two seasons in 2014. In April 2015, Goodman made his return to the stage, making his
West End debut in the process while starring as Donny in
American Buffalo at the
Wyndham's Theatre alongside
Damian Lewis and
Tom Sturridge. Goodman went on to star as Sheriff Hartman in the 2016
Broadway theatre revival of
The Front Page, alongside
Nathan Lane and
John Slattery. On March 10, 2017, Goodman received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in motion pictures, located at 6767
Hollywood Boulevard. On April 28, 2017, it was announced that a
revival of Roseanne was in the works and that Goodman along with most of the original cast and some of the producers would return for the limited series that was being shopped around with ABC and
Netflix the frontrunners to land the show. On May 16, 2017, it was confirmed that eight episodes would air mid-season in 2018 on
ABC. On May 29, 2018, in the wake of controversial remarks made by Barr on
Twitter regarding
Valerie Jarrett (an advisor of former president
Barack Obama), ABC canceled the revival after a single season. Goodman has stated he "felt bad" for his costar and defended her over the following years, claiming she was not racist. However, he also stated in 2025 that the two of them had not spoken in "seven or eight years," with Goodman doubting Barr would even want to talk to him. The month after the cancellation, ABC ordered a ten-episode
Roseanne spin-off titled
The Conners, which stars the
Roseanne cast sans
Roseanne Barr. The show's first season premiered on October 16, 2018. From 2019 to 2025, Goodman starred in the role of
Southern megachurch preacher and family patriarch Eli Gemstone on the
HBO comedy
The Righteous Gemstones, created by and co-starring
Danny McBride. Goodman accepted the role right after the revived
Roseanne series had been cancelled and before its spin-off
The Conners was announced, which led to Goodman doing both shows. In 2020, Goodman served as the conductor narrator for the virtual train ride welcome video at the St. Louis Aquarium that opened at
St. Louis Union Station. In 2023, Goodman appeared in
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as the older Bill Randa, reprising his role from
Kong: Skull Island (2017). In 2026, he had a supporting role as Blake Jr, the CEO of a fast-food restaurant chain, in the
dark comedy crime film
Chili Finger. == Acting credits and accolades ==