John Goodman, the celebrated actor known for his roles in “Roseanne” and “The Big Lebowski,” has faced personal struggles off-screen.
Goodman has openly battled with depression and alcoholism, shedding light on the importance of mental health.
“I overcompensated by working way too hard. I’ve just kind of come out of that in the last year or so,” Goodman explained to the hosts. “And there’s so much to learn.” He said that attempting to work less and tackle his issues has been his aim for the past few years, stating it’s “much different now”.
Goodman continued, “I feel like I’m still learning. The last couple of years have been goofy for me because I’ve been trying to be good — and it doesn’t work that way.”
However, the process hasn’t been easy. Goodman said that the only way he was able to learn that lesson and begin to overcome this patterns was by “practically having a nervous breakdown.”
“It was bad with everything,” he said about the worst point of his mental health that spurred his work to recover. “It just purged out of me when I went to the therapist one day. And then for the rest of the day, it was horrible. Nothing worked,” he added.
Goodman has taken on plenty of iconic roles in his time, notably featuring in classic films such as Blues Brothers 2000, The Flintstones and David Byrne’s True Stories. The actor is also a regular collaborator with the Coen Brothers as he starred in several of their movies, including The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou? And Inside Llewyn Davis.
Even with such a successful career and a lengthy filmography to his name, Goodman’s anxieties hit him worst later in his life as he seemed to suddenly face up to a wave of self-doubt. He said that “the fear of losing trust in myself” has been his core issue lately in both his life and career.
However, no art is worth sacrificing the mental health of its maker, and no actor should worsen their mental state for the sake of a project. Goodman also knows that a good performance requires a healthy mind and a balanced emotional state. “You’ve got to be relaxed when you do stuff. And open and listen,” he said as he attempted to recoup and get back to work.
