Goodman lost more than 90kg following health struggles. While he has largely avoided discussing public reaction to his appearance, he said the experience has changed how he sees himself.
“It’s strange. It’s fun to get used to,” he said.
The weight loss affected his work on comedy-drama The Righteous Gemstones when he thought he was going to have to do a nude scene.
“I thought I was going to have to be naked in it,” he said.
“I said, ‘I don’t know. I’m good. My body’s too messed up [from] losing all this weight.’”
John Goodman attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Digger. Photo / Getty Images
Goodman was long known for his on-screen appearances as a barrel of a man.
Asked whether his size had limited opportunities in Hollywood, the veteran actor replied, “I’m sure it did. And a lot of it, I think, might’ve been self-sabotage.”
Goodman arrived in New York trying to make it as an actor in 1975, weighing about 100kg and in good shape, he said, but his weight steadily increased over the following decades.
At his heaviest, the actor weighed over 180kg. Photo / Getty Images
His battle with obesity coincided with a struggle with alcoholism, which he has previously described as life-threatening. Goodman said if he hadn’t changed his ways, there was only one destination for him.
“When I look back, yeah, I was on my way out,” he said, recalling a time when he weighed about 180kg while battling addiction.
After giving up alcohol following a decades-long struggle with addiction, Goodman embarked on a major health overhaul and has said he still pushes himself to exercise regularly, admitting he often has to “force” himself to go to the gym to maintain his weight loss.
In a previous interview with the Sunday Times Culture Magazine, Goodman described his relationship with food as addictive, saying weight-loss medications would have been a “godsend” because they could have helped reduce cravings and compulsive eating.
Despite the challenges, Goodman has remained a prolific presence on screen. However, his recent work has not been without setbacks.
While filming the upcoming movie Digger alongside Tom Cruise, Goodman broke his hip after slipping while wearing socks and falling heavily.
The actor said he was forced out of production for about a month before undergoing rehabilitation and returning to complete the film.