John Goodman’s role in the upcoming Dan Trachtenberg thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane is a mystery. Yes, we know he plays Howard Stambler – a man who claims to have saved Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character Michelle from a deadly chemical attack by locking her in his specially-built underground bunker – but the integrity of his character remains unknown.
Whether Howard turns out to be a heroic benefactor or evil abductor, we know that John Goodman will pull it off – he has, after all, played an incredibly diverse selection of roles…
Monsters Inc (2001)
You can’t get cuddlier than Pixar’s iconic fluffy monster Sulley. Though the blue and purple monster works as a ‘scarer’ whose job is to terrify children and collect their screams, he becomes the unlikely hero of this 2001 classic when he meets a young girl named Boo. At first he is terrified of Boo believing her to be deadly as all humans are, but he soon becomes attached to the girl and tries to get her home before the other monsters can get their hands on her.
Whilst the animators did an amazing job in bringing Sulley to life (each one of his hairs had to be individually animated!) it’s Goodman’s acting talent that makes Sulley such a loveable character. Goodman’s acting portrays the full spectrum of monster emotions on Sulley’s emotional journey, from career driven macho monster at the start of the film, to heartfelt foster monster at the end of the film. Culminating in a real tear jerking scene, Goodman can make you laugh and cry and he brings it all the table in Monsters Inc.
The Flintstones (1994)
An animation classic, in 1994 the Flintstones were given their first live action feature film, and who better to play the larger than life Fred Flintstone than larger than life John Goodman. While producers considered a variety of other actors for the role none of them were quite the right fit. It’s said that if Goodman had turned down the role the film may never have seen the light of day.
In The Flintstones Fred loans money to best pal Barney so he can adopt a child. To repay him Barney swaps their aptitude tests securing Fred a big promotion at work. Money and fame start to change Fred though, and on top of this he soon realizes he’s being framed while his boss embezzles money from the company. It’s a race against time as Fred tries to save his name, not just to keep his job, but to save his friendship as well. Another comedy classic for Goodman he again tempers his comedy with genuine heartfelt emotion.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Set deep in the American south O Brother, Where Art Thou? is loosely based on ancient Greek drama The Odyssey. Using the ruse of finding a buried treasure, convict Ulysses Everett McGill convinces the members of his chain gang to escape their incarceration so he can win back his wife. When they come across Goodman’s character, Daniel “Big Dan” Teague, he is posing as a bible salesman, but uses the opportunity to rob the three instead. Later, while the three convicts hide in a Ku Klux Klan mob, Klan member Big Dan exposes them and in their escape they cut down a giant burning cross, crushing him in a grisly end.
This is a more unsavory role for Goodman, but again he brings out the comedy in his performance. Big Dan uses his gift of the gab to charm his victims into a false sense of security before robbing them, and his verbose but eloquent speeches performed in the intoxicating southern accent are a testament to Goodman’s tremendous acting skill.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Angry more than a bad guy, in The Big Lebowski Goodman plays Walter Sobchak, a Vietnam veteran, bowling teammate, and best friend of Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski. When the Dude is assaulted in his home Walter encourages him to seek answers leading him on a wild goose chase, and getting him stuck in the middle of various schemes and entanglements.
In this role Goodman keeps up the laughs but not for his usual charm. Walter is funny because he is always losing his cool. Set against the quintessentially laidback Dude, Walter makes an unlikely best friend but together they seem content to spend their days bowling and just cruising through life. #Squadgoals
The Hangover III (2013)
In The Hangover III Goodman plays the dangerous mob boss Marshall, who kidnaps the wolf pack to try and hunt down Leslie Chow who had stolen $21 million from him. Doug is held as collateral while the rest of the gang must hunt down the money to stop Marshall from killing Doug.
Whilst still funny, this is a sinister turn from Goodman. Orchestrating kidnappings, planning gold heists, murdering; these certainly aren’t the hall marks of the Fred Flintstone type. Then again considering he had to put up with the likes of Leslie Chow stealing his stuff, it’s hardly surprising he’d turn to such extreme means. Either way, Goodman shows in this film that he’s not just a barrel of laughs; he can be intimidating too.
Barton Fink (1991)
Barton Fink is the story of New York playwright who moves to L.A. to pursue a lucrative career as a screenwriter. Refusing to go full Hollywood he checks into a rundown motel and soon meets his neighbor, Charlie Meadows, played by Goodman. Despite claiming to want to write about the common man, Fink ignores Charlie, the common man in front of him, proving to be a big mistake. Soon it is revealed Charlie is actually a dangerous serial killer Karl ‘Madman’ Mundt who sets the hotel on fire and kills two policemen before disappearing.
The role of Charlie Meadows was written for John Goodman by the Coen brothers in part because of his usually warm and friendly image. They wanted to turn this on its head, and it certainly makes for chilling viewing. In the first half Charlie is charming as usual, so when it turns out he is a serial killer it comes as quite a shock. Even then though, his innate humanity still shines through. He explains he kills because he can see the true suffering of others and wants to relieve them of their pain. After all he does free Fink from the burning hotel.
10 Cloverfield Lane is in UK cinemas 18th March. Watch a new clip from the film below, and read our very positive review over here.
