A new photo of John Goodman has fans doing a double take, with the 74-year-old actor looking “so skinny” and nearly “unrecognizable” following his dramatic weight-loss transformation.
For audiences who remember Goodman as Dan Conner on Roseanne, Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, or the many other memorable characters he has played over the years, the actor was once widely recognized for his much larger frame.
Goodman, who also voiced the lovable Sully in Monsters, Inc., once weighed close to 400 pounds. Over the years, he has openly discussed his struggles with losing significant amounts of weight, only to eventually return to old habits and gain it back.
“I’d get off of Roseanne every spring. I’d lose 60 pounds every spring,” he told David Letterman in 2010, according to People. “I’d gain it back and then some, every year. It’s going to be an ongoing process for the rest of my life.”
‘Eating alcoholically’
By that same year, however, Goodman had already lost more than 100 pounds. He credited cutting sugar from his diet, exercising regularly, and working out as often as six days a week. He had also stopped drinking alcohol three years earlier, according to People.
“I’m breaking a sweat but I’m not going nuts,” he explained. “I know it sounds sappy, but it was a waste. It takes a lot of creative energy to sit on your ass and figure out what you’re going to eat next…I wanted to live life better.”
The Flintstones star later explained that his goal was no longer to achieve another dramatic, short-term weight-loss result. Instead, he wanted to make changes that he could realistically maintain for the long term.
“I just stopped eating all the time,” Goodman told ABC News. “I’d have a handful of food, and it’d go to my mouth. I was just eating all the time. I was just eating alcoholically.”
“In the old days, I would take three months out, lose 60 or 70 pounds, and then reward myself with a 6-pack of Bud or whatever and just go back to my old habits,” he added
‘Sick and tired of looking at myself’
Looking back, Goodman acknowledged that losing weight had never been his only challenge. The bigger struggle was keeping the weight off once he had lost it.
“This time I wanted to do it slowly, move, exercise. I’m getting to the age where I can’t afford to sit still anymore. And it gives me the energy to work, because work is very draining.”
His motivation went far beyond simply wanting to change the number on the scale.
“I just got tired, sick and tired of looking at myself. You’re shaving in the mirror, and you don’t want to look at yourself. It gets dangerous,” Goodman said.
Over the years, his lifestyle changes have reportedly helped him lose around 200 pounds, dramatically changing the appearance audiences had become familiar with throughout his long Hollywood career.
And his latest appearance has once again highlighted just how significant that transformation has been.
‘He’s so skinny’
In early August, Goodman reportedly crossed paths with fellow actor David DeLuise at a grocery store. The two stopped to take a photo together, and DeLuise later shared the unexpected encounter on Instagram.
DeLuise, best known for playing Jerry Russo on Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place, appeared delighted to meet Goodman, smiling alongside the noticeably slimmer actor as they posed together in one of the store’s aisles.
“He was my childhood!! Legend!” DeLuise wrote alongside the photo. “I love that I get to say that to someone ;), if you know you know.”
The photo quickly attracted attention from fans, many of whom were stunned by Goodman’s noticeably slimmer appearance.
“Is that John Goodman? He’s unrecognizable,” one person commented.
“He’s so skinny,” another wrote.
“I love John Goodman! Yes, he looks very different, but I bet he feels great!” a third person added.
Another commenter praised the actor’s transformation, writing, “The right way…NOT another GLP-1 zombie!”
After years of struggling with his weight and making major lifestyle changes, Goodman’s latest appearance has left many longtime fans amazed at just how much he has transformed.
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