John Goodman has been an active presence on TV and film screens for over forty years, which makes his upcoming turn in Chili Finger (2026) all the more exciting. The crime thriller stars Goodman as the head of a fast-food company who hires his fixer Dave, to look into a woman trying to blackmail his company. It’s an ideal role for Goodman, with a natural mix of dark comedy and genuine malice giving the character an edge that few other performers can match.
Goodman has been in plenty of great things over the years, especially with his terrific turns in TV shows like Roseanne (1988) and The Righteous Gemstones (2019). However, his best work is often in the movies, where Goodman has solidified himself as one of Hollywood’s best-ever character actors. Whether it be with frequent collaborators like the Coen Brothers or fresh takes on older genre fare, these are the best John Goodman movies, available to watch on Hulu, Prime Video, and more!
Raising Arizona (1987)
John Goodman’s terrific capability to mine side characters for surprising pathos, shocking darkness, and good comedy is on full display in Raising Arizona. One of the actor’s first collaborations with the Coen Brothers, Raising Arizona is a shockingly heartfelt story about a bumbling robber and his police officer wife as they try to figure out how to get a baby.
Goodman steals multiple scenes as the bank robber Gale. Intense when he wants to be but prone to sudden bursts of comical rage, Gale was a great early showcase for the comedic and tense flexibility that the actor would continue to refine in other Coen Brothers movies like Barton Fink (1991) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). This early film for both parties was a great show of promise for what they would go on to do together.
Arachnophobia (1990)
Not for audiences who are scared of spiders or squeamish with scary movies, Arachnophobia is a memorably dark and surprisingly funny entry in John Goodman's filmography for viewers who prefer a bit of a horror spoof. The film follows the spread of a poisonous new species of spiders in a small American town.
Goodman plays Delbert, a local exterminator who finds himself helping contend with the potential global ramifications of the species spreading further, trying to use his very specific expertise to help fight back the hordes of spiders that are spreading around town. Goodman is having a blast in this affectionate love letter to B-movie horror stories, like The Black Scorpion (1957) or The Blob (1958), which gives it a certain sense of undeniable charm.
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
While Martin Scorsese may be better known for films like Taxi Driver (1976) and Goodfellas (1990), his underrated paramedic drama Bringing Out the Dead (1999) is well worth hunting down for the performances alone. Goodman stars as Larry opposite Nic Cage's Frank, a pair of paramedics who find themselves dealing with a mix of medical emergencies, drug rings, and their own fraying sanity amidst their work.
A riveting exploration of empathy and the human limits, Bringing Out the Dead doesn't quite match the dark comedy and tight thriller elements of his better-known films. Instead, it's the performances that really elevate the movie, a low-key character drama that gives Goodman and Cage (along with co-stars like Ving Rhames and Patricia Arquette) some terrific material to play with.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
John Goodman has always been great in comedies, whether that be the grounded sitcom stylings of Roseanne or the cartoonish heights of Monsters Inc. (2001), but he’s never been funnier than as the military-minded and quickly intense bowler Walter in The Big Lebowski.
Perhaps Goodman’s most iconic collaboration with the Coen Brothers, Walter provides a spirited and fierce contrast to Jeff Bridges’ unforgettably laid back performance as the Dude, with his explosive bursts of temper and drawn out explanations providing some of the movie’s biggest laughs.
Even his attempts at vulnerability are hilarious, with Walter’s memorial service for another character quickly turning into one of the funniest funerals ever caught on film. Especially in films that blend grimmer tropes with broad comedy, Goodman’s versatility as a performer thrives—and it’s never better than in The Big Lebowski.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
John Goodman has had a lot of fun over the years playing a villain, but he’s arguably never done it more memorably over-the-top than with his performance in O Brother, Where Are Thou?. The Coen Brothers-directed Great Depression riff on The Odyssey is a comedy for the ages, full of hilarious side-characters. The most malicious is Big Dan, a fierce salesman, brutish conman, and member of the KKK who bedevils the heroes at some key points in their adventure.
Goodman does terrific work giving the initially jovial traveler a subtly scary edge from the first time we see him, building to some of the movie’s more bluntly violent and vicious moments. Goodman is always very compelling as a villain, as seen with another film on this list. This performance, while less complex than some of his other turns, benefits from a commitment to being awful that makes for an unforgettable side-villain in a movie full of them.
Red State (2011)
One of Kevin Smith’s most unexpected films, Red State ends up being a good, intense action movie for John Goodman. Goodman actually doesn’t factor too heavily into the opening act of Red State, which focuses on a militant family of religious extremists who find themselves at odds with the federal government. Goodman plays Keenan, a morally driven leader at the ATF who finds himself leading the assault against the family.
A good man caught in a bad situation, Keenan ends up being crucial to the thematic throughline of the film, especially as other cast members from the more horror-driven first act start dropping. A dark movie that showcases Goodman’s strength as a good man in a brutal world, Red State is a good showcase for Goodman’s talents in the thriller and solid proof that Kevin Smith can push the envelope in some clever ways when he goes outside his usual Clerks (1994) headspace.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
10 Cloverfield Lane is one of the best John Goodman performances ever, with the ominous presence he brings to Howard. The sequel to Cloverfield (2008) goes a very different route than the handheld perspective on a kaiju attack, instead focusing on three survivors of an apparent alien assault who find themselves stuck in a bunker together. Goodman delivers a memorably unsettling performance that leaves both the audience and the cast wondering if the greater danger is inside with the others.
Goodman manages to keep Howard feeling human at his worst moments, making the darker aspects of the filmmaking all the more effective. John Goodman is one of those actors who can bring a shocking amount of humor, heart, and horror to the same character, and it’s never felt more acute than in this low-key sci-fi/thriller fusion.
