John Goodman Reveals ‘Roseanne’ Co-Star Was His ‘Acting Hero’
John Goodman revealed why it was an easy decision for him to sign on to the Roseanne spinoff, The Conners, in 2018. In a video chat with People magazine, the actor said that his co-stars from the ABC sitcom are some of his “favorite people" in the world.
The sitcom, which ran for seven seasons, from 2018 to 2025, starred several of Goodman’s castmates from the long-running Roseanne series, including Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson. But Goodman, 73, told the outlet that working with Laurie Metcalf, the Academy Award-nominated actress who played his TV sister-in-law, was the biggest bonus.
“My acting hero Laurie Metcalf was worth the price of admission,” Goodman said. “It was worth showing up every day for work just to see what that woman would do. She's magic. She's just she's amazing. And God, she made me laugh. You know, my jaw would drop when I'd watch her. She's so good.”
The Conners spinoff was developed after a 2018 Roseanne revival was cut short when series star Roseanne Barr became involved in a racist Twitter scandal. Her iconic character, whom she played from 1988 to 1997 on the ABC sitcom Roseanne and then for one season in a 2018 reboot, was killed off the series while the rest of the cast moved on with The Conners spinoff.
Goodman, who is no longer in touch with Barr, told People that he had “so much fun” in the early years of the show. “And Roseanne and I have always been able to make each other laugh,” he said. “I would try to get her to pee her pants laughing, and she obliged me from time to time.”
Goodman has admitted that he has not spoken to Barr in years. In a July 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he admitted that. “I’d rather doubt if she wants to talk to me. We haven’t talked for about seven or eight years.”
Barr, 72, has said her Conner family is in her past. "No, I'm not friends with none of them,“ she told Fox News Digital in June. “They're all in the past. We don't talk.”
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