The family sitcom The Goldbergs takes place during 1980-something and is based on the real-life Adam F. Goldberg's family - here's how Sean Giambrone's Adam Goldberg compares to the real one. An added treat that viewers get to experience at the end of each episode is a clip of the real-life events that inspired it. During the credits of each The Goldbergs episode, Adam Goldberg likes to include a personal video clip with some insider information as to what was going on in his real life. Each Goldberg character is based on the series creator's family and their doppelgangers seem to depict the family fairly accurately according to the clips. The television show has made some narrative changes to better increase viewership. Though it ultimately looks like the series follows real events fairly closely.
The Goldbergs season 9 had a lot to cope with considering Jeff Garlin's exit. Some changes are vastly different than real life. For example, the three real-life Goldberg children are all boys. Adam's older brother Eric was changed into Erica (Hayley Orrantia) in order to make the show more relatable and portray the female experience of growing up in the 1980s. Not to mention that the real-life Murray, played by Jeff Garlin, was a doctor rather than a discount furniture salesman. The real Barry, played by the hilarious Troy Gentile, also went on to become a doctor. Finally, Adam F. Goldberg went to high school during the 1990s rather than the 80s. With everything The Goldbergs changed, here's how the real-life Adam Goldberg compares to his televised counterpart.
Sean Giambrone, of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, plays the title character, and one of the noticeable differences between him and his real-life counterpart is their appearance. The real Adam Goldberg is often depicted with or without much larger glasses and darker hair. While the two definitely vary in physical appearance their life goals at that age were most likely the same. In season 5 episode 15 "Adam Spielberg," the character tries to write and direct an original Indiana Jones screenplay. He realizes that he only enjoys the writing process of the project and continues to pursue his dreams in that avenue, while still filming his crazy family. Something similar must've happened to the real-life Goldberg, as by 1995 he had written over 50 different plays that were performed around the country.
The rest of The Goldbergs cast looks pretty similar to their real-life counterparts - sans Eric/Erica, of course. Beverly Goldberg (Wendi McLendon-Covey) bears the most striking resemblance to her true character. The real Beverly is pretty active on Twitter and often posts photos of the family. The real Murray also bears a likeness to Jeff Garlin's portrayal. Sean Giambrone may not look wholly similar to the real Adam F. Goldberg, but his performance as the character must've struck a chord with the series creator. The authentic footage shows that Giambrone has done a stand-up job of capturing Adam's spirit, goals, and mannerisms.
The real-life Adam Goldberg is also the creator and showrunner of other series like Breaking In, Imaginary Mary, and The Goldbergs spinoff Schooled. None of these shows have faced the same critical success as The Goldbergs though Schooled is entertaining in its own right. The Solar Opposites star Sean Giambrone's depiction of Adam Goldberg may not be quite as similar to his real-life counterpart in terms of his appearance. However, he must be akin to Adam F. Goldberg in terms of his love of cinema, his relationship with his wild family, and his driven spirit.