A few months ago (just before all hell broke loose with a virus), an old favorite of ours, Jonathan Goldsmith appeared in an ad that aired during the LIV Super Bowl. It was good to see him again, and at 81 years old, he hasn’t lost a step:

Maybe you never noticed that the commercial that made him famous changed, or perhaps his run as “The Most Interesting Man in the World” came before your time, but Jonathan Goldsmith played Dos Equis Beer’s hugely popular “Most Interesting Man in the World” character from 2006 to 2016. He played the man who could “parallel park a train.”

 

Had anyone asked our opinion, we would have opposed replacing him with another actor, but the powers-that-be did just that, and hired French actor, Augustin Legrand to become the new “most interesting man.” It wasn’t the same, and in 2018, the character was sidelined following sluggish sales.

Goldsmith landed on his feet. He went from being the Dos Equis man to being an Astral tequila man (giving him a chance to brush off the Spanish accent inspired by his good friend, the late Argentine-born actor, Fernando Lamas):

Astral – This Calls for Tequila! *Star* from Davos Brands on Vimeo.

We doubt Astral Tequila gave him the high visibility he enjoyed as The Most Interesting Man, and perhaps Goldsmith felt bad about that…..all the way to the bank. As of 2020, his net worth is $10 million. Good for him. He’s likely never forgotten the days he had to work as a construction worker or driving a garbage truck to make ends meet. These days, Goldsmith spends time teaching art and theatre in the California prison system,  has made a public awareness commercial for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Vermont, works with Clear Path International, a nonprofit that assists civilian victims of war, and makes pet therapy visits with “Willy.”

Jonathan Goldsmith is an avid dog man. In addition to having lent his celebrity to the Morris Animal Foundation in their efforts to prevent and cure cancer in dogs (a disease which claimed one of his own dogs), he is the owner of an Anatolian Shepherd named “Willy,” and that makes him “one of us.” 

Below is a commercial that Goldsmith made for the Orvis’ Cover Dog contest in 2014. You’ll be treated to a glimpse of his 154 pound dog, Willy.”

In the interest of balance,  you should also meet “The Most Interesting Dog in the World.”