What Did Sloth From The Goonies Look Like In Real Life?
In terms of movie history, it doesn't get much more iconic than Sloth (John Matuszak) in "The Goonies." The friendly giant and his legendary "Hey, you guys" catchphrase warmed the heart of every admirer of Richard Donner's 1985 adventure film, and fans will likely never forget Matuszak's iconic performance despite tragedy cutting the Sloth actor's career short.
Besides "The Goonies," Matuszak appeared in many films through the 1980s, including "One Crazy Summer," "Caveman," and "The Ice Pirates." He also guest starred on some of the era's biggest TV shows, including "M*A*S*H," "The A-Team," "Miami Vice," and "Perfect Strangers," and even had a starring role on "Hollywood Beat." But he wasn't always an actor.
Before his move to Tinseltown, Matuszak competed in the 1978 World's Strongest Man competition and played in the NFL for nine years, winning two Super Bowl championships. As such, he was long recognizable outside of his role in "The Goonies," even though fans of the film today may not know what he actually looked like.
John Matuszak was unrecognizable underneath the prosthetics
Unsurprisingly, John Matuszak looked nothing like Sloth from "The Goonies," highlighting the makeup department's unbelievable work — it took four to five hours, 15 overlapping pieces of prosthetics, and layers of makeup to bring the character to life. Most important were the oversize ears and a low-hanging left eye that crew members operated off-screen with a remote control. Despite this, the actor never once complained about the painstaking process, not even the time the child actors got the makeup wet, forcing him to go back and do it all over again.
"Look at the smile," Richard Donner reflected in "The Making of a Cult Classic: The Unauthorized Story of 'The Goonies'" while watching a video of Matuszak in costume. "It's that smile that comes through. This was a sweet, gentle giant. Scary as hell, even scary to me, but he'd put his arm around you, and it was like, 'Wow. I'm flying.'"