For ten years, Jonathan Goldsmith was officially The Most Interesting Man in the World. Between 2006 and 2016, he fronted an ad campaign for Dos Equis beer, which bestowed the title upon him and made him world-famous as the debonair gentleman who has appeared in countless “I Don’t Always…” memes. Yet this phenomenal success barely scratches the surface of a distinguished acting career that has endured for nearly 60 years.
Goldsmith made his first on-screen appearance way back in 1963, and went under the stage name Jonathon Lippe until 1977. During this part of his career, he appeared in dozens of TV shows (including the likes of Perry Mason, Ironside, and Gunsmoke) but also in numerous Westerns, including Hang ‘Em High and John Wayne’s The Shootist. In 1969, he appeared in Cold War thriller Ice Station Zebra alongside the likes of Rock Hudson and Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan. The film became a favourite of legendary eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes, who ordered the film to be shown hundreds of times on his local TV station.
During the 1980s, he played Bruce Harvey in Dallas and made guest appearances in some more of the decade’s most iconic shows, including Dynasty, Knight Rider, and Murder She Wrote, establishing himself as one of America’s premier character actors. He appeared on TV less during the 1990s and early 2000s, until the Don Equis campaign provided him with the biggest success of his career to date. In 2018, he made his first big-screen appearance in many years with a role in Mamma Mia Here We Go Again!