Jonathan Goodwin was a daredevil from Season 15 of America's Got Talent. He was eliminated in the Semifinals.
Background[]
British-born U.S. citizen Jonathan Goodwin is a daredevil, escape artist and stunt performer that has been hanged, buried alive, hung by his toes from helicopters, burned at the stake, attacked by sharks and rattlesnakes, covered in 200,000 bees and more. Jonathan is an accomplished knife thrower, archer, escape artist, martial artist, free diver and free climber.
In 2016, he appeared on the third season of the Italian competition series Tu Si Que Vales [1]
In 2018, Jonathan appeared on the first and only reboot season of Showtime at the Apollo. He was shown in the third episode and got good reception from the audience, however he lost his episode to Sweet Baby Kita. He appeared in the same episode as fellow AGT alum The Prodigy Dance Crew and Troy James.
Jonathan is a single dad and lives in Las Vegas, with his 8-year-old-daughter, Milligan, whom he makes pancakes for on a daily basis. In 2019, Jonathan was a finalist on Britain's Got Talent, and hopes to go at least as far on AGT!
Audition[]
Jonathan Goodwin's audition in Episode 1507 was very briefly seen but it consisted of catching an arrow shot from a crossbow. Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, and Simon Cowell all voted "Yes," sending him to Judge Cuts.
Judge Cuts[]
Jonathan Goodwin's Judge Cuts performance in Episode 1508 consisted of performing a danger act which featured him blindfolded with his back to a target dodging crossbows being shot at him. His performance was strong enough to advance to the Quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals[]
Jonathan Goodwin's Quarterfinals performance in Episode 1511 consisted of performing a "trial by fire" escape act. Simon Cowell was not present, but Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara gave him standing ovations. Jonathan finished in 4th, 5th or 6th place in America's Vote. In the Dunkin' Save, he received fewer online votes than Spyros Bros. In the Judges' Choice, Howie Mandel and Kenan Thompson did not vote for him but Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara did, forcing a tiebreaker; whichever act had received more votes from America would progress. He received more votes than Alexis Brownley & The Puppy Pals, advancing to the Semifinals in Episode 1512.
Semifinals[]
Jonathan Goodwin's Semifinals performance in Episode 1519 consisted of performing a death-defying escape act involving travelling on a zipline 60 feet in the air suspended by his mouth while undoing a combination lock and his hands tied behind his back. Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara all gave him standing ovations. Jonathan did not receive enough votes to advance to the Finals in Episode 1520, eliminating him from the competition along with Brett Loudermilk instead of Bello Sisters.
After the Show[]
Jonathan returned for AGT: Extreme. During the filming of the show, he was involved in a stunt where he was supposed to escape while wearing a straightjacket and suspended 20-40 feet in the air between two cars. The stunt called for him to remove the jacket before the cars hit each other head-on. Instead, Goodwin was crushed between the two cars as the stunt went wrong, causing an explosion on the set and burning Goodwin. He was rushed to the hospital and production was paused.[1] Miraculously, he survived, and any footage of him on the show was never televised.
At the same time, he competed on the eighth season of the Italian competition series Tu Si Que Vales, wherein he initially reached the Final. However, following his injury on AGT: Extreme, he was forced to withdraw.[2] It was later announced that Jonathan was paralyzed from the waist down.
In February 2023, he and his fiancée Amanda Abbington appeared in an episode of Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.
On October 11th, 2023, Jonathan filed a lawsuit against NBCUniversal and the various production companies behind America's Got Talent, claiming that "lax safety standards on the show" led to his accident.[1]
Trivia[]
- Jonathan appeared on AGT in Season 10 as apart of The Illusionists. The Illusionists were a guest performer for Episode 1019. Jonathan locked Howie Mandel into a chair and Howie had 20 seconds to free himself before garbage would be dropped on top of him. He again performed with The Illusionists in Season 11 in Episode 1118. This makes him the first quarterfinalist to be a guest performer on a previous season.
- During both the America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent live shows, Jonathan won the Judges' Choice after getting a tie both times.
- Jonathan, Max Major, and Dance Town Family (via Wild Card) are the only three acts from the Season 15 online auditions to advance to the semifinals.
- Jonathan's Judge Cuts performance is the last televised Judge Cuts performance to date with the round being removed in favor of deliberations in subsequent seasons.
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