He later played Tonda in the 1981 comedy Caveman, appearing opposite Ringo Starr. Other credits included The Ice Pirates, One Crazy Summer and guest roles in television programs.
The Raiders’ historical biography credits him with 33 film and television appearances before his death. That total demonstrates that acting was not merely a one-time novelty following football. It became a genuine second profession.
Still, none of those appearances would define his legacy as powerfully as the role that made him nearly unrecognizable.
In The Goonies, Matuszak was hidden beneath layers of prosthetics, artificial teeth and mechanical effects. His name was not the one most children remembered after watching the movie.
They remembered Sloth.
Becoming Sloth
Released in 1985 and directed by Richard Donner, The Goonies follows a group of children searching for the treasure of the pirate One-Eyed Willy. Their adventure brings them into conflict with the Fratellis, a criminal family using an abandoned restaurant as a hideout.
Sloth is introduced as another potential threat.
He has been isolated and mistreated by his own family. His unusual face, huge body and uncontrolled movements initially frighten Chunk, who has also been captured. But fear gradually gives way to recognition. Chunk treats Sloth as a person rather than a monster, and Sloth responds with loyalty.
That relationship becomes the emotional center of the film.
The casting worked because Matuszak could offer something more valuable than size. Plenty of performers could have filled a large costume. Sloth required someone capable of communicating gentleness, hurt, humor and courage while working beneath prosthetics that restricted facial movement and speech.
The transformation was physically demanding. Later accounts describe a daily makeup process lasting roughly five hours and involving 15 prosthetic pieces, including a mechanical eye. The mask was delicate, hot and restrictive.
Martha Plimpton, who played Stef, later recalled that the prosthetics made Matuszak difficult to understand and caused him to sweat heavily. Nevertheless, she remembered him as a “lovely guy,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
Director Richard Donner similarly remembered the patience required of his actor. Matuszak’s capacity to tolerate hours of makeup and uncomfortable filming conditions contradicts the simplest version of his public reputation.
The man portrayed in football stories as uncontrollable demonstrated remarkable discipline when the role demanded it.
Why Sloth became the heart of the film
Sloth’s most memorable scenes work because the movie allows the audience’s perception of him to change.
At first, viewers see what the filmmakers want them to fear: enormous size, unpredictable movement and a dramatically altered face. Soon, however, the character reveals affection, vulnerability and a childlike desire to belong.
The transformation occurs not because Sloth’s appearance changes, but because the audience learns to interpret it differently.
His friendship with Chunk is essential. Chunk is talkative, frightened and frequently underestimated by the other children. Sloth is physically powerful but emotionally neglected. Each offers the other something he lacks: Chunk gives Sloth companionship and dignity, while Sloth gives Chunk protection and confidence.
The famous cry of “Hey, you guys!” became the character’s signature, but Sloth’s lasting appeal comes from a deeper idea. A person who has been treated as a monster chooses to behave heroically.
Matuszak’s own biography adds another dimension to that theme.
He had spent years being valued for his ability to intimidate and inflict controlled violence. His body made him useful on a football field and easy to typecast in Hollywood. Yet his most enduring screen performance succeeded because he communicated warmth.
The apparent contradiction between the violent football player and the gentle movie character may not have been a contradiction at all. Both depended on the same physical presence, but Sloth allowed Matuszak to show the humanity beneath it.