There are few actors who have quite the range of John Goodman, who has appeared in a variety of movies and TV series during the course of his decades-long career and is currently starring in both The Connors and The Righteous Gems.
While Goodman is no stranger to dramatic roles in genres as diverse as science fiction and horror–some of his most iconic appearances have been in comedies of various sorts. Thus, it is worth taking a look back at the many roles that he has played over the years, in order to determine just which of them deserve to be seen as the funniest.
Fred Flintstone (The Flintstones)
more underappreciated comedies from the 1990s, and that is a shame, given how perfectly cast the movie is and how much it captures the joyful comedy of its animated predecessor.
John Goodman deserves special praise for his ability to evoke the personality of Fred from the original cartoon series, with just the right mix of bravado and sensitivity. What’s more, he demonstrates in this movie that his comedic timing is as sharp as always, and he remains one of the best things about it.
Pacha (The Emperor’s New Groove)
The Emperor’s New Groove is a Disney movie that tends to fly under the radar, which is a shame, considering that it features some excellent voicework from both David Spade and John Goodman.
Goodman plays the character of Pacha, and while he isn’t quite as irreverent as Spade’s Kuzco, he nevertheless manages to evoke his own understated brand of humor. Pacha emerges as a man who clearly loves his family and will do anything that he can to protect their home.
Gale Snoats (Raising Arizona)
The Coen Brothers are renowned for their ability to create many great movies, and Raising Arizona is one of their finest. It has all of the features that one associates with their brand, including larger-than-life characters, snappy dialogue, and absurd situations. In this movie, Goodman plays the character of Gale Snoats, who sets out to lure an old associate back into a life of crime.
As is almost always the case, Goodman gives an electrifying and hilarious performance, creating a man who outlandish as he is, is ultimately, a good guy.
Ralph Hampton Gainsworth Jones (King Ralph)
King Ralph is another rather strange comedy from the 1990s. In keeping with the times, it has a rather convoluted and unlikely plot, in that Goodman’s Ralph, an American, inherits the British throne after the entire Royal Family dies in an accident.
Fortunately, Goodman knows how to create a character that is both sympathetic and very funny, and he manages to make Ralph into a well-meaning man who, though he is very much a fish out of water, nevertheless ends up succeeding at being a king.
Big Dan Teague (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Is another excellent movie from the Coen Brothers, and they make excellent use of Goodman as Big Dan Teague, an aggressive and brutal man who is this story’s version of the Cyclops from The Odyssey.
Though this character isn’t trying to be funny, there is nevertheless something more than a little amusing about Goodman’s performance, including his broad southern accent and his willingness to inflict pain and damage on anyone who dares to get in his way.
Delbert McClintock (Arachnophobia)
a creature feature that doesn’t always get the credit or appreciation that it deserves. While it certainly leans into the horrifying aspect of its story–not surprising, since it focuses on deadly spiders–John Goodman makes a very funny appearance as Delbert McClintock, a larger-than-life exterminator who takes it as his duty to kill the malevolent arachnids and stop their reign of terror.
Goodman’s performance helps keep the movie from sliding into absolute horror, and his light touch allows it to be as amusing as it is disturbing.
Eli Gemstone (The Righteous Gemstones)
There are many funny characters that appear in the HBO series The Righteous Gemstones, which focuses on a family of televangelists as they contend with various threats to their ministry. Goodman is one of the series’ most important characters, since he is the family patriarch, Eli.
What makes his character so funny is that, ultimately, he is the most normal and stable member of his clan, constantly having to confront the foibles and follies of his three adult children, who seem to go out of their way to bring the family crashing down into ruin.
Sully (Monsters Inc./Monsters University)
one of the best movies that Pixar has made. There are many reasons why this is the case, but a major contributing reason is the undeniable voice chemistry between John Goodman and Billy Crystal. Even though they both play monsters–Goodman portrays Sully–they are both far more complicated than that term would imply.
Indeed, Goodman shows that he has a rare skill when it comes to voice acting, and he manages to make his character both very funny and also tremendously endearing.
Walter Sobchak (The Big Lebowski)
As with so many of their other movies, The Big Lebowski has become almost synonymous with the Coen Brothers. While Jeff Bridges’ Dude is the movie’s most important character, there’s also a case to be made that Goodman’s Walter Sobchak is its funniest character.
As he always does, Goodman pours himself into the role, creating this man who is so much larger than life that it’s hard to imagine him being any other way. However, it has to be said that it is his numerous one-liners that earn him a place as one of Goodman’s funniest characters.
Dan Conner (Roseanne/The Connors)
Of all of the characters that John Goodman has played in his career, it is arguably Dan Conner from Roseanne (and, later, The Conners) that is key to his legacy. More than that, however, Dan is a genuinely funny man, and he adds a certain kind of sardonic distance to Roseanne’s more temperamental and volatile personality.
However, he’s not just very funny; he is also someone that clearly loves his wife and his family and will do whatever he can to protect, provide for, and care for them.
