John Goodman Opts for Silence in 'The Artist'

It seems like every time you turn on the television, see a film, listen to a commercial, or even play a video game you see or hear John Goodman. This past year alone he was on the TV shows "Treme," "Damages," and "Community." He was a voice on video game "Rage" and the animated film "Happy Feet Two," and he was in two Academy Award nominated films, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and "The Artist."

Goodman, who admits that he never purposefully takes a break from acting, has made a name for himself as a modern day everyman, stealing scenes since the mid-1980s. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the TV series "Roseanne" and for his work with the Coen brothers in their films "Raising Arizona," "Barton Fink," "The Big Lebowski," and "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

The New Orleans resident recently spoke to Back Stage about working on "The Artist," in which he played one of his favorite roles, and how he uses a mix of theory and rationality to create his memorable characters.

Back Stage: How did you come to be cast in "The Artist"?

John Goodman: Since there was no dialogue, [director] Michel Hazanavicius didn't have a conventional script, he had a scenario, printed in a black binder with all these pictures from old Hollywood. He really put a lot of love into this thing, and to me that indicated he had a degree of passion about what he wanted to do. Then I talked to him about shooting, how he was going to shoot it and where, and he sold me. And it's one of those rare things where everything he talked about showed up on the screen.

Back Stage: Was acting in "The Artist" different from other films?

Goodman: You know, it was and it wasn't. We had the scenario and we improvised what we needed to do. It was a little difficult [in my scenes with] Jean Dujardin because he didn't speak any English at the time. He does now; he rattles it off. And I'm never going to speak French. I flunked it in high school. But we still knew what we were talking about. We were very focused on each other and it's cool because it worked out really well on the screen. Outside of that, it was just telling the story.

Back Stage: Are you surprised by how much the film has been embraced by audiences?

Goodman: Not that it's been embraced by audiences, but that it's such a big deal now and people are talking about it. I thought it was special when I read it and it sure turned out that way. It's very gratifying when that happens.

Back Stage: How do you normally choose your projects?

Goodman: It's like if you listened to a good song there's a hook. Something that grabs you that's a little different. It says a little something that you haven't heard recently. And good dialogue. I'm a sucker for good writing.

Back Stage: You've had such a varied career. What's been your favorite role?

Goodman: One was Falstaff. I got to do that at The Old Globe Theater in San Diego way too long ago now. But another is [Walter in] "The Big Lebowski." That's the one that gets the most radical response from people. We had such a good time doing it and it's still fun to watch every once in a while.

Back Stage: Would you say you have a specific acting method?

Goodman: I'm lucky I didn't get locked into an ideology early on. I just use a mixture of everything and then add practical common sense into whatever style the piece is. A good example is "The Artist." We all tell a story, we all want to tell the truth, not to be confused with real, but the truth, the truth of the piece. That's the best way to do it. You know it in your heart and your socks when you're doing right.

Back Stage: What's your method for rehearsal?

Goodman: Listening. Keeping your ears open. Rehearsal is there for you to make a fool of yourself. Try anything. Throw it up against the wall. Have that desperation to make it right. I usually know I'm going to make a total ass of myself, but I jump off. Jump right into it. And then it's a refining process, but thank God for rehearsals.