Monarch Star Reveals If He Met John Goodman Before Playing the Same MonsterVerse Character

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is five episodes deep on Apple TV+, and it takes place in the MonsterVerse which has tackled stories about Godzilla and King Kong. The franchise previously saw John Goodman playing Bill Randa in Kong: Skull Island, a role he reprised in the first episode of Monarch. The series also sees Workaholics alum Anders Holm taking on the role of young Bill Randa. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with Holm, and we asked if he studied Goodman to prepare for the role. 

“Yeah, there’s one, but I’m not telling. Sorry,” Holm said when asked if he took anything from Goodman’s performance. “I did think about one thing, and I did do it a little bit, but otherwise I was like, ‘I can’t do what this guy does. This is John Goodman. Come on.’ Luckily, everybody on the staff – the writers, and creators, and directors – were like, ‘You know, you don’t have to be John Goodman.’ I was like, ‘That’s great, ’cause I can’t.’ So I’ll just do what I do except for the one little mannerism that I’m not gonna tell you about, so yeah, that was it.”

“No, never met him,” Holm added when asked if he was able to pick Goodman’s brain at all. “We were like ships in the night. He came and did his thing. I came and did my thing. And it’s too bad, ’cause he didn’t get to pick my brain,” he joked. “They’ll start calling him ‘John Not-That-Good-Man.’ You know, standing next to me. That’s my biggest fear, so I really dialed back the skills on the show. In subsequent seasons, if we get that, I’ll step it up a notch.” 

What Is Monarch: Legacy of Monsters About?

You can check out Apple TV+’s description of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters here: “Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga – spanning three generations – reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.”

If you are not caught up with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the show is still airing weekly. You can find new episodes exclusively on Apple TV+ in the United States. As for the MonsterVerse, this show marks the franchise’s first live-action television outing. Next, the IP will head back to theaters as Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is slated to drop in April 2024.