Jonathan Goldsmith: 5 Things To Know About Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man
His name is Jonathan Goldsmith, but he is known as The Most Interesting Man In The World. After nearly ten years of adventures, Dos Equis’ famous spokesperson is retiring from the role. Before he has one last beer, here are 5 interesting things to know about Jonathan.
He acted in westerns without knowing how to ride a horse. He made Dos Equis a success, despite not actually being Mexican himself. He is Jonathan Goldsmith, 77, the Most Interesting Man In The World. Before the beer spokesman retires, get to know more about the man behind the advertising legend.
1. He’s known for selling Mexican beer but he’s not actually Latino.
Dos Equis will bid “adios” to The Most Interesting Man In The World by sending him on a “Mission To Mars” on March 10, according to Deadline. Though Dos Equis is made by the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery in Mexico, Jonathan is made in America. In fact, he’s a Jewish man of Russian descent who grew up in The Bronx, according to Jewish Journal.
2. He didn’t have to know how to be a cowboy to land roles in some major Westerns.
He moved to Hollywood to become an actor, per NPR. After lying about knowing how to ride a horse, he landed a role on the legendary television show, Gunsmoke. Things didn’t end well. “As soon as I got on — the horses know,” Jonathan said.
“Off he went. Everyone’s screaming at me, ‘Turn him, turn him around.'” Despite this, he managed to land roles in The Shootist with John Wayne and in Hang ‘Em High with Clint Eastwood, 85.
3. The real life Most Interesting Man In The World was Jonathan’s good friend.
When he auditioned for the commercial, Jonathan saw his competition involved a lot of young, Latino actors. “If they’re looking at these…guys,” Jonathan said, “I better put on an accent.” He channeled his sailing buddy, the late actor Fernando Lamas. “I thought about…how funny he was and how charming.” Once he spoke, the casting people started laughing and the rest is history.
4. When he goes to the beach, he saves young girls from drowning.
While growing in New York City, Jonathan worked for the Fresh Air Fund. “One of the things we dealt with were quite a lot of epileptic kids,” he told the Huffington Post. He learned how to tell if a kid was just playing or if they’re in serious trouble.
That experience helped years later when he was on Malibu Beach. He immediately saw a young girl drowning and “instinctively reacted,” pulling her out and saving her life!
5. Just like he says, Jonathan really doesn’t always drink beer.
Jonathan prefers a martini or a Scotch instead of a beer, he told Ad Age in 2012. The fact that he said that four years ago and still remained the most visible beer salesman is proof why he’s one of the Most Interesting men in the world.
Are you sad to see Jonathan retire his character, HollywoodLifers?