Character actor Brian Goodman's unmistakably tough, rough-hewn exterior seemed to pigeonhole him, automatically lending him to portrayals of cops, army majors, guards, lieutenants, prisoners, and other figures with an aura of menacing imposition. Features that enlisted Goodman spanned a broad spectrum of genres, from prison drama (The Last Castle, 2001) to chase movie (Catch Me If You Can, 2002), to action yarn (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, 2006); the Best Picture nominee Munich (2005) (in which Goodman played a Belligerent American) reteamed the actor with Catch director Steven Spielberg. In 2008, Goodman dramatically expanded his ambitions by co-scripting, directing, and starring in the drama What Doesn't Kill You; an overtly autobiographical piece, it told of two friends (Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo) who grow up together in a rough neighborhood and find themselves sucked into a whirlpool of crime and violence and rapidly drawing the attentions of a die-hard police detective (Donnie Wahlberg).