John Goodman has revealed that he underwent stomach surgery during his efforts to control his weight. The 74-year-old actor also described developing anemia and losing a layer of fat beneath his skin.
“I’m cold all the time,” he told The New Yorker in an interview published October 18. He did not identify the procedure or say when it was performed.
The “Roseanne” star has been sober since 2007, when he was 55. In the conversation, also covered by Entertainment Weekly, he recalled reaching a point when his drinking had left him facing hospitalization.
Goodman spoke from the Charleston, South Carolina, home he shares with his wife, Anna Beth. The couple moved there after roughly three decades in New Orleans. He had come to know Charleston while working on “The Righteous Gemstones.”
Goodman’s Weight Loss Began Before He Stopped Drinking
At his heaviest, Goodman said, he was close to 400 pounds. He could lose 60 pounds over a summer, sometimes 70 or 80, only to put the weight back on. Repeating that process became exhausting.
Quitting alcohol did not immediately change his relationship with food. He described what followed as “eating alcoholically.”
In a 2010 interview with Men’s Health, Goodman described working with trainer Mackie Shilstone in New Orleans. The program included doctors, a nutritionist and trainers, giving him professional support alongside a regular exercise schedule.
He treated the workouts like a job, fitting them around his acting commitments. The schedule included cardiovascular exercise and resistance work, with adjustments to accommodate his knees.
Goodman also traced his eating habits back to childhood, when he would eat privately. Later, he continued consuming the substantial portions he had eaten while playing football, even after his athletic activity had changed.
Goodman Says Drinking Kept Him From Growing Up
Goodman remembered a repeating sequence of heavy drinking, hangovers and shaking. He would have another drink to relieve the shakes, continuing the cycle.
“I got sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he recalled in the new interview.
Looking back, he felt alcohol had allowed him to postpone growing up. It affected his judgment and made it easier to overlook responsibilities and the people around him. Getting sober meant recognizing how selfish he had been and how much of ordinary life he had missed.
That struggle also affected his work. Toward the end of the original run of “Roseanne,” Goodman wanted to leave the series because he was overwhelmed by the stress. He was eventually allowed to appear in only half the episodes.
He also remembered worrying that people would discover the extent of his drinking. Behind the familiar image of a cheerful, imposing television father, he was dealing with anxiety, guilt and the consequences of his behavior.
Goodman Recalls a Hip Fracture While Filming “Digger”
Goodman fractured his hip while filming “Digger” in London in 2025. He was blocking a scene with Tom Cruise when he slipped on the floor while wearing socks, landing hard on his side.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson confirmed the injury to People in March 2025 and said production had briefly paused while Goodman received treatment.
Cruise’s physician was on set when the accident happened. Goodman was taken to Cleveland Clinic London, underwent surgery the next day and said he was functional again within a month.
His current work with a trainer focuses on core strength, balance and maintaining mobility. He wants to avoid another fall.
He also enjoys having places to walk near home. The quiet neighborhood and warm weather are among the things he likes about his new surroundings.
Goodman Talks Tom Cruise and the Stage Role He Still Wants
In Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger,” Goodman plays the president of the United States. He also discussed working opposite Cruise during an October 6 appearance on “Live with Kelly and Mark.”
Goodman described Cruise as energetic and encouraging in the New Yorker conversation. His co-star’s stamina particularly impressed him. Goodman said he gets tired, while Cruise does not.
Goodman said he sometimes works so hard on his lines that he ends up forgetting them. He knows his performances can be better when he manages to relax.
He would still like to return to the stage, particularly as James Tyrone in Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” Goodman joked that if someone actually handed him the role, he might turn it down.