John Goodman ‘practically had a nervous breakdown’ while facing recent career struggles

John Goodman is always evolving as a person and as a performer.

The Emmy award-winning actor admitted that he’s more cautious with career choices than he was when he first pursued work in the entertainment industry 50 years ago – something that’s inadvertently affected how he performs on camera.

“It’s much different now. I feel like I’m still learning,” he told Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Batemen on their “SmartLess” podcast. “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.

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“You know, like planning things way too much, and at the root of that was the fear of losing trust in myself.”

He added, “I overcompensated by working way too hard. I’ve just kind of come out of that in the last year or so. And there’s so much to learn.”

“The Conners” star was asked how he “managed” to come out of the difficult time, to which he said, “practically having a nervous breakdown.”

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“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. 

Goodman said that trying to “be good” at his craft ultimately backfired on him. (Getty Images)

“You’ve got to be relaxed when you do stuff. And open and listen,” he shared.

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“You have to be ready to listen to yourself. You have to be relaxed. For me, that was the key. I already know this stuff, and that’s one thing I didn’t trust myself about. 

“I don’t know. I’ve been doing the same two roles for the last four or five years, and I haven’t really had much of a chance to do everything else.”

He admitted those two roles were in “The Conners” and “The Righteous Gemstones.” 

“The Conners,” a spin-off of “Roseanne,” was renewed in May for its seventh and final season. (Getty Images)

Hayes noted that it was commendable to hear Goodman speak candidly about his life, while Bateman added it’s “silly we all need a reminder that everyone is human,” and praised John for his “helpful” insight on the human condition. 

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Part of Goodman’s willingness to share his struggles was found through his journey with sobriety.

“It’s kind of to help myself and maybe to help somebody else. I’ve been clean about 16 years now,” he said. “The last 16 years I’ve had to grow a lot into my normal age, and it’s been a lot, but I’m glad I did it.”

Goodman once weighed almost 400 pounds, and has remained committed to his weight-loss efforts. (Getty Images)

In addition to his focus on sobriety, the “Roseanne” star has remained committed to his weight-loss efforts, having lost nearly 200 pounds. At one point, Goodman weighed almost 400 pounds.

“I just stopped eating all the time. I’d have a handful of food, and it’d go to my mouth,” he told ABC News in 2016. “I was just eating all the time. I was just eating alcoholically.”

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