Josh Brolin
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Josh Brolin has climbed some mountains in his life; in many ways, he’s an explorer navigating his own path while he easily could have taken more commonly blazed trails. Son of James and Jane Agee Brolin, Josh was born in the California central coast town of Templeton in 1968. At first, young Brolin swore off acting, but couldn’t help himself from falling in love following his participation in a high school production of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” And so during his teen years, he made his film acting debut: as older brother Brand to Sean Astin’s Mikey in “The Goonies” in 1985.
While Josh displayed a strong on-screen presence in the Spielberg-produced adventure flick, the subsequent projects Josh chose to be a part of failed to claim any kind of faithful audience, cult or otherwise. He earned his pay through television, particularly in the three-season run of “The Young Riders” from 1989 to 1992, which featured Josh as a young Wild Bill Hickok and Stephen Baldwin as young Buffalo Bill Cody. Father James even tried his hand at directing some episodes. During the show’s run, Josh founded the Reflections Festival in Rochester, New York, a kind of symposium on theater, acting and directing. He was also busy raising a child, Trevor, with his wife Alice Adair; a daughter, Eden, was born to them in 1994.
Following “The Young Riders,” Josh bounced around on some short-lived shows before his appearance in “Flirting with Disaster” in 1996 as a government agent who arrests Ben Stiller. The David O. Russell film did much to further launch Stiller’s burgeoning career, as well as Tea Leoni’s and Patricia Arquette’s. Many thought the same would happen with Josh’s career. And yet things like “Mimic,” “The Mod Squad” and “Hollow Man” followed. His marriage to Alice Adair ended in the first half of the decade, and a romance with Minnie Driver blossomed and then fizzled when she dumped Josh in 2001. Barbara Streisand became Josh’s stepmother in 1998. A return to television as the title character of “Mr. Sterling” lasted nine episodes in 2003. A year later, Josh’s personal life took a dramatic turn when he wedded Diane Lane in August. In December, Josh was arrested for domestic battery, but Ms. Lane did not press charges.
At last, Josh reached 2007. In April, “Grindhouse” was released in theaters, featuring Josh in heavy makeup as Dr. William Block in Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror.” During the filming, Josh got some help in preparing an audition tape to send the Coen Brothers for their upcoming production of “No Country for Old Men.” Josh had Tarantino direct him in a couple scenes and Rodriguez shoot it. The Coen Brothers called, but not to hire Josh: they wanted to know who lit the audition. But Josh was keeping plenty busy. He has a small role in Paul Haggis’ “In the Valley of Elah” with Tommy Lee Jones, and in early November appeared in Ridley Scott’s 1970s crime epic “American Gangster” as New York detective Trupo. “No Country for Old Men” came shortly after. The Coen Brothers relented after Josh’s agent doggedly pursued them to meet him, and the result is Josh’s stunning performance as Moss, keeping one step ahead of Javier Bardem. Approaching 40, Josh Brolin is at a pivotal juncture in his career. While he claims he’s nothing close to a discovery, what his next projects will be will determine if he is indeed among the natural heavy hitters.
Josh on the Web
IMDb
The go-to database for Josh on the net.
TV Guide: Josh Brolin
Photos, bio and news of Josh.
Yahoo! Movies
Most detailed Josh bio on the web, along with photos and links.
Wikipedia
Anecdotal trivia on Josh’s life and times makes it worthwhile.
The Unofficial Josh Brolin Fan Page
Good site for its inordinate amount of links to photos of Josh.
About.com Interview
In-depth discussion with Josh on making “No Country for Old Men.”
Salt Lake Tribune Interview
Josh offers pearls of wisdom on what his winding career has meant to him.
USA Today Interview
Josh downplays his “overnight” success story in a candid interview.
Your Daily Smackdown Interview
Interesting yarn Josh spins on a day on the “Grindhouse” set.
Josh on Video
Star Movies VIP Access
Stevie Wong interviews Josh on his audition tape for “No Country for Old Men.”
“W.” Trailer
Preview to the Oliver Stone film with Josh as President George W. Bush.
GQ.com Interview
Quick chat with Josh and Thandie Newton at the 2008 GQ Men of the Year Awards.
“Planet Terror” Clip
Brief hospital scene with Josh as Block.
Josh on the Screen
It all started as Brand Walsh in Richard Donner’s “The Goonies” in 1985. He’s Corey Webster in “Thrashin’,” Johnny Betts in seven episodes of “Private Eye,” James Butler Hickok for 67 episodes on “The Young Riders,” and Tony Kent in “Flirting with Disaster.” He’s Bryce in “Best Laid Plans,” Hal Carter in “Picnic,” and Matthew Kensington in “Hollow Man.” Following the collapse of “Mr. Sterling,” he’s the subject of Will Ferrell’s envy in Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda,” and Jedediah Smith in the TNT miniseries “Into the West.” That same year, he’s bad guy Bates in “Into the Blue.” 2007 brought, of course, the turnaround Josh had been looking for: he’s in “Grindhouse,” “In the Valley of Elah,” “American Gangster,” and “No Country for Old Men.”
Latest Buzz
Some have billed 2007 as the Year of the Brolin given his commanding screen presence in no less than four high profile projects. Where he goes from here remains to be seen – in interviews he has confirmed a “Goonies 2” with the entire cast on board (and Meryl Streep replacing Anne Ramsey as the villainess), but we’ll believe it when we see it.
Josh Says
On the stock market:
“I love the competitive part of stocks. A lot of fear and greed, that’s all it is. All I see is green and red.”
On owning up:
“'When you lose, just admit you’ve lost and take the loss.'”
On being honest with himself:
“I've been around for a while, and I’m not going to play into the hype that I’m some great, you know, discovery.”