John Goodman faced challenges with alcohol and depression for a long time.
He confessed that if he had really wanted to, “nothing” could stop him from drinking. He also mentioned feeling like he was having a “walking heart att:ack.” But now, he has conquered his struggles and is here to share his story.
John Goodman, a famous actor, just turned 70. Before starring in movies like The Flinstones, Blues Brothers, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski and more, the American star of The Borrowers dealt with depression due to tough personal experiences.
Throughout his career, Goodman has been honest about his drinking issues. For over 30 years, the star battled this illness which greatly impacted his life.
In an interview back in 2012, he stated that his drinking was “definitely” harming his acting career.
“I mean there were many times I could have ᴅʀᴏᴡɴᴇᴅ,” Goodman said. Not from an overdose but rather from bad choices I guess.
The actor quit drinking in 2007 but admitted it was hard to stay sober every day. At one point he started having nightmares about finding some bourbon and gulping it down.
He would think: “I’ll go: Hey! I shouldn’t be doing that.”
Then say to himself “Waaah! That’s OK!” You often do it! You always sneak it! Eventually I wake up saying “No way.” At first those thoughts scared me; now they’re just funny.
To avoid triggers Goodman added: “I want to keep going places where there is good support because if I really wanted a drink nothing on Earth could stop me.”
He also shared that worries about losing work pushed him towards alcohol.
“It’s just booze,” he admitted. “I’m an alcoholic.” He would drink no matter what. Finding excuses is part of being an alcoholic too. But stress? I’ve had a tough life; my job choice is always stressful and I’ve made it worse by drinking and using drugs too—there’s always the chance of getting laid off.”
He reflected on how strange it was: “For some reason I denied what I was doing to myself… Considering how I looked it’s amazing anyone hired me at all—I felt like having a walking heart att:ack.”
So he came up with another way to handle things.
Goodman loves acting and believes performing live theater offers something completely different—it’s like being shot out of a cannon!
“You get this rush of adrenaline then you’re totally wiped out by the end,” said the Roseanne actress.
Filming movies? That’s another story—it takes patience and long hours; sometimes filming feels endless!
The well-known stage actor often forgot lines due to this struggle as well.
“I had trouble with that,” he explained. After lots of drinking my lines vanished; it felt like snowballing doubts about my ability grew bigger each time—wasting energy punishing myself more than anything else! All you need is calmness—accept there will be lines & practice patience!
Alongside these ongoing battles came daily feelings of deep sadness too.
“A chemical thing—a brain thing… [a sense] overall unhappiness with everything,” as he described it—nothing feels right & nothing seems interesting anymore—it drives you crazy!
Goodman who married Anna Beth Hartzog back in ’89 helped him get sober in 2007.
