$3M lawsuit filed against John Goodman

John Goodman has been sued by a German production company that claims the actor backed out of an agreement to star in one of its films.

Constantin Film Produktion alleges that Goodman agreed to receive $500,000 to appear in "Pope Joan," which was scheduled to begin filming in May, according to papers filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. On March 14, Goodman's representatives informed Constantin via e-mail that the actor would not be appearing in the film, the papers claimed.

The lawsuit seeks damages of about $3 million.

A message left with Goodman's agent wasn't immediately returned Tuesday.

In a statement to celebrity news Web site TMZ, Goodman's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, said: "There were talks about Mr. Goodman participating in the `Pope Joan' project, although no agreement was ever reached. This is a frivolous lawsuit."

Goodman, 54, is best known for playing Dan Conner on the hit sitcom "Roseanne" in the 1980s and '90s. He appears alongside Steve Carell in the upcoming comedy "Evan Almighty."