7 Facts You Didn’t Know About the Making of ‘The Goonies’

Even though The Goonies was released nearly 40 years ago, it remains one of the most popular films of our time. This cult classic, which centers around the themes of friendship and adventure, was directed by a young Steven Spielberg and starred an even younger Josh Brolin and Ke Huy Quan. Ahead, we take a deep dive into some surprising facts you may not know already about the iconic movie.

If you ever wondered how long it took John Matuszak to transform into Sloth each day of filming, the answer is a long time. The actor had to sit in hair and makeup for up to five hours daily to transform into the ogre-like character.

Matuszak had a full career as a football player before taking on the role of Sloth. Teams he played for include the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans.

The famous Goonies house, where characters Mikey and Brand Walsh lived, wasn’t some Hollywood-made set. In reality, it was a private residence in Astoria, Oregon. If you’re a Goonies fan, you’re in luck—the house still stands today. It was bought recently by a Kansas City entrepreneur who absolutely loves the film.

Josh Brolin may be a household name today, but nearly 40 years ago, he was preparing for his breakout role as Brand in The Goonies.

Believe it or not, Spielberg, supposedly came up with the idea for The Goonies while he was busy shooting The Color Purple. As the story goes, it was on the Whoopi Goldberg-led film set that he began to wonder about children and the adventures they make up to fill their time.

Award-winning singer Cyndi Lauper was tasked with curating and creating music for the film’s soundtrack. She included her song “The Goonies ‘R Good Enough” on the compilation, but hated the song so much that she refused to play it live for years.