A debonair gentleman nestled in a plush banquette, surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women, turns to offer sage—and hilarious—advice, with a worldly, fixed gaze. These Dos Equis commercials ran from 2006 to 2016. His character, “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” was idolized by millions, including President Obama. Jonathan Goldsmith, who portrayed this Latin bon vivant, was the surprise guest-of-honor at Obama’s birthday weekend at Camp David in 2012. Now that’s pretty interesting.
An actor with more than 350 film and television roles from the 1960s to the 1990s, Jonathan Goldsmith lives in the Manchester area with his wife, Barbara, and their two Anatolian Shepherd rescue dogs, Willy and Joey. The couple met in 2001 when Barbara came on as Jonathan’s agent. In fact, she’s the one who pushed for the silver-maned actor to audition for the commercials in 2005, thereby changing the course of both of their lives.
You had been living the high life in California. What drew you to Vermont?
Jonathan Goldsmith: My father was a retired schoolteacher in the Bronx, and he had an old farmhouse in Chatham, New York. I would come up to Manchester and Arlington on weekends and summers to fly fish. It was just glorious. Fast-forward to 2008, a couple of years after the Dos Equis commercials hit. Barbara and I were living on a sailboat and couldn’t go anyplace because everyone recognized me. So I said to my wife, a Beverly Hills girl, “We got to get out of here. Would you come to Vermont?” She said, “Sure, where is it?” And I said, “Come with me, my dear.” I just happened to bring her here in October, and oh, she just fell in love with the place. I asked, “Could you live here?” She said, “I lived on a sailboat for four years with you. Let’s give it a whirl,” and that’s why I’m here.
You’ve been a lifelong fisherman. Pardon the pun, but what’s so alluring about fishing?
JG: I don’t care if I catch anything or not. It’s just the tranquility, and I guess somewhat has to do with memories. I’d go fishing with my father. I have the same reels I fished with, with my father 60 years ago. I have Pflueger, Shakespeare, Atlas, Garcia. But there’s something beautiful about being on the water, the solitude, the quiet. I have a boat and go fishing whenever I can at Lake Bomoseen. It’s a beautiful place. I can look at the shore and delight in seeing the seasons change.
photo: Bobby Quillard
“In 2008, Barbara and I were living on a sailboat and couldn’t go anyplace because everyone recognized me.” –Jonathan Goldsmith
And when you’re not fishing or working in your garden?
JG: I’m a voracious reader. When I look at my library, it’s like seeing old friends. My history is right there. Or I look out the window. The mountain to the north is our weather bureau. We watch it change with all the seasons. I can sit on a rock in the backyard and just think. I never get bored.
Typical winter routine?
JG: We stay in bed as long as we possibly can, watching the news. Then we go someplace for a late lunch. Doesn’t matter where it is. When we get home, I start the fireplace and usually read for a while. Then we cook together. I do most of the cooking.
Any specialties?
JG: I make a great spaghetti carbonara. And ribs. I love to grill. I built an extension on my shed where I store my boat and lawn tractor. I can grill year-round out there under the overhang. I’m a big fan of smoked meats: chicken, ribs, maybe I’ll try a smoked prime rib this winter. I think that would be wonderful.
“We love to entertain. We’ll invite several couples over, and we’ll be in the dining room, with the fireplace going in the living room.” –Jonathan Goldsmith
“I love the tranquility, the memories...of fishing with my father. I have the same reels I fished with, with my father 60 years ago.” –Jonathan Goldsmith
How do you entertain at home?
JG: We love to entertain. We’ll invite several couples over, and we’ll be in the dining room, with the fireplace going in the living room. Everywhere you look, you can see the fireplace. It’s always going.
Barbara Goldsmith: I have my mother’s Waterford crystal. I serve drinks in it all the time. You’ve got to use it. No sense packing it away.
JG: Both of us love planning and preparing the meal and cooking together.
Favorite moment of the day?
JG: I like twilight.
BG: Cocktail time. They often coincide.
JG: Good point.
What are your drinks of choice?
JG: Depends on the season. In the summer it’s gin and tonic or a gin martini; in the winter, Scotch. I love a bourbon old-fashioned with cherries. Barbara likes red wine or tequila with lime. Whoever said “A day without wine is like a day without sunshine” was right.
How about cooking?
JG: I love to cook fish. I’ll sauté a full monkfish loin with a little butter, garlic, and fresh herbs. I like sautéing because it’s subtle and easy, and I’ll have a little sip while I watch it cook. In the wintertime, frequently, we’ll have a drink after dinner, by the fire. That’s when I’ll read, or we’ll plan where we’re going to lunch the next day.
A hobby, habit, or interest you have that might surprise us?
JG: I read, write, do some poetry. And I love to drive, open roads, back roads. I have a 1994 Jaguar with 62,000 miles on it. Runs like a top. I try to keep the mileage down, but I take it out enough to keep it charged. It’s a perfect vehicle. I love to drive, top down, listening to classical music and jazz. And I practice the Wim Hof Method—ice-cold showers and conscious deep breathing. Not while driving, of course.
Barbara, I’m sure you embrace Wim Hof?
BG: Are you kidding?
JG: We are opposites in every way.
BG: Every way.
JG: Not really. No.
BG: Name one way we’re not.
JG: Well...we like our kids. And we like cocktail hour.
BG: Exactly. No, we agree on most things.
JG: The important things.
BG: We really do.
Let’s talk about the 10 years of commercials. Do you have a favorite episode?
JG: Oh yes, the one where they sent me to Mars.
BG: That has become the most watched television commercial ever. They teach about that commercial in communications classes at UCLA.
“I have my mother’s Waterford crystal. I serve drinks in it all the time. You’ve got to use it. No sense packing it away.” –Barbara Goldsmith
So what made the overall campaign so successful?
JG: I think it hit a niche that nothing has ever touched. The commercials had impact because they were outrageously funny and so well written. And they made people smile.
BG: We had the best time. We did each year’s commercials in a two-week shoot. It was a massive undertaking, like shooting a movie.
How did the commercials change your life?
JG: The commercials put me back on the map. I had done more than 350 starring roles in film, yet I was nowhere. But after the commercials, I became a household name. But good things come to an end. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip, and everything that came with it: the travel, the appearances, leading parades all over the country, special events.
After reading your autobiography (Stay Interesting: I Don’t Always Tell Stories About My Life, But When I Do, They’re True and Amazing), which was fascinating, I could see you’ve had some close calls and pretty wild escapades. Yet you have a remarkable ability to turn the bad into good, or to rebound quickly. What accounts for that?
JG: My father never had any money, but he had a zest for life. The glass was always half full, and you could do anything. I suppose I inherited that spirit.
From your present vantage point, what advice would you give to your 25-year-old self?
JG: I have a motto of sorts. I believe life is like a parade. Most people watch it go by and live vicariously through other people. And there are some that get in the parade, participate in their own life. I say get in the parade. It’s your life. Don’t watch it. Be in it. Be present.
Jonathan with Wish Kid Jamie Heath
Jonathan has been with Make-A-Wish® Vermont for almost 10 years.
Something you’re proud of, beyond your career?
JG: I guess my working with children. I started when I was 18, working at the Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fund Camp for handicapped kids. They would come out from New York for a two-week encampment. Some of them had never seen green grass or tasted fresh milk, and that was a glorious time for me.
BG: Jonathan was state chairperson of the Make-A-Wish® Foundation of Vermont and has been with them for almost 10 years. When Jonathan performs weddings, part of the deal is that he asks the couple to contribute to the foundation.
JG: I also taught acting with an organization called Free Arts for Abused Children. We were a group of actors, dancers, artists. We would go into institutions where children were kept for their own protection, usually from their parents, and we would bring them arts programs. Just prior to the pandemic, I was about to go into the Vermont penal system to teach. I was really looking forward to it, but that got put on hold. But I’m looking forward to starting it again.
Looking ahead, what do you still want to accomplish?
JG: I may write a second book. And I love speaking at commencements. Inspiring kids and helping them go for it, whatever it is. I remind them to apply themselves, not to quit, and that material goods are not the most important thing in the world. In spite of everything I’ve done, I’m a pretty simple guy. I have everything that I really want, right here.
5 rapid fire questions for JONATHAN GOLDSMITH
Avocado, bagel, cream cheese and chives, a little smoked salmon, and thin-sliced onion.
What I called “p’sghetti,” spaghetti with butter and ketchup. And my father’s broiled chicken with garlic salt.
I don’t really have a sweet tooth, but I learned how to make apple pie and enjoy that. And I like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Truffle fries.
If you’ve eaten and dined well enough, you’re good to go. Although I do love Armagnac.
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