John Goodman has had a long and prosperous career in film and television.
But while appearing earlier this month on the SmartLess podcast, The Conners and The Righteous Gemstones star told hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes about how he had to learn to slow down and not try to cover anxiety up by constantly working.
“It’s much different now,” he said. “I feel like I’m still learning. The last couple of years have been goofy for me because I’ve been trying to be good — and it doesn’t work that way.”
Goodman, who has lost 200 pounds in the last few years, said that “the fear of losing trust in myself” has been his core issue lately in his life and career.
“I overcompensated by working way too hard. I’ve just kind of come out of that in the last year or so,” he said. “And there’s so much to learn.”
Asked how he’s overcome that, Goodman said it was by “practically having a nervous breakdown.”
“It was bad with everything. It just purged out of me when I went to the therapist one day. And then for the rest of the day, it was horrible. Nothing worked,” he said.
“You’ve got to be relaxed when you do stuff. And open and listen,” he said.
