Josh James Brolin (/ˈbroʊlɨn/; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985. He is known primarily for his roles in the films The Goonies, W., No Country for Old Men, Milk, and True Grit.

 

Early life

Brolin was born in Templeton, California, the son of Jane Cameron Agee, a wildlife activist who was a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, and actor James Brolin. Brolin was raised on a California ranch with little exposure to his father's acting career. His parents divorced when he was 16. His stepmother is singer/actress Barbra Streisand. He became interested in acting after taking an improv acting class in high school.

 

Acting career

Brolin started his career in TV movies and guest spots on TV shows before getting a more notable role as Brand Walsh in the Richard Donner-directed movie The Goonies (1985).[4] He was considered for the role of Tom Hanson in the series 21 Jump Street; he and Johnny Depp were the finalists for the role, and at that time the two became close and remained friends even after the role was ultimately awarded to Depp. Brolin guest-starred in an episode of the show in its first season.

 

Brolin implied that he turned away from film acting for years after the premiere of his second film, Thrashin', where he witnessed what he called "horrendous" acting on his part.[8] For several years, he appeared in stage roles in Rochester, New York, often alongside mentor and friend Anthony Zerbe. One of Brolin's more prominent roles early in his career was that of James "Wild Bill" Hickok in the ABC western TV series The Young Riders, which lasted three seasons (1989–92).Two other TV series he was involved in include the Aaron Spelling production Winnetka Road (1994) and Mister Sterling (2003), both of which were cancelled after a few episodes.

 

Brolin's extensive film work consists of many villainous roles in recent films including Planet Terror (one of two feature-length segments of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse), Gus van Sant's Milk, American Gangster, and Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. He also played the lead role in the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning film No Country for Old Men.

 

Brolin also starred in another Oliver Stone film in 2008 called W., a biopic about key events in the life of President George W. Bush. Stone pursued an initially hesitant Brolin for the role. He said of his decision to cast Brolin in the leading role:

 

It always seemed to me that he was the right person. Although classically handsome, I think he would consider himself a character actor first and foremost, and it was in this context that I thought of him as W. Josh certainly has star appeal and could be a leading man, but I don’t think he necessarily wants to be that. I think he really enjoys disappearing into a character

 

Brolin at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

 

Brolin received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Gus Van Sant's biopic Milk as city supervisor Dan White, who assassinated San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. He made news by wearing a White Knot to the Academy Awards ceremony to demonstrate solidarity with the marriage equality movement. Brolin told an interviewer that costar Sean Penn, who portrayed Milk, decided to dispel any nerves the actors had about playing gay men by grabbing the bull by the horns. At the first cast dinner, which included castmates James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna, Brolin said, "[Penn] walked right up and grabbed me and planted a huge one right on my lips."[10] Brolin has received critical acclaim for his performance and, in addition to his Oscar nomination, received NYFCC and NBR Awards for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. He portrayed Jonah Hex in the film of the same name.

 

Brolin played a younger Agent K in Men in Black 3 released in May 2012.

 

Writing and directing

 

Brolin at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival (2011)

 

In 2009, Brolin executive produced and performed in The People Speak a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

 

Brolin wrote and directed the short film X, as his directorial debut. The film, about an inmate who escapes prison to reunite with his daughter and search for her murdered mother, was the opening film at the first annual Union City International Film Festival in Union City, New Jersey in December 2010.

 

Other activities

During an interview in 2010 Brolin claimed to be a member of punk rock band Rich Kids on LSD in the early 1980s.

 

Brolin has hosted Saturday Night Live twice; once in October 2008, and again in April 2012.

 

Personal life

Marriages and family

Brolin was married to actress Alice Adair from 1988 to 1994; they have two children, Trevor Mansur (born June 1988) and Eden (born 1994). He was engaged to actress Minnie Driver for six months. He has been married to actress Diane Lane since August 15, 2004.

 

Legal issues

On December 20, 2004, Brolin's wife, Diane Lane called the police after an altercation with Brolin and he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery. Lane declined to press charges and the couple's spokesperson characterized the incident as a misunderstanding.

 

On July 12, 2008, Brolin was arrested, along with actor Jeffrey Wright and five other crew members of W., after an altercation at the Stray Cat Bar in Shreveport, Louisiana. Brolin was released after posting a cash bond of US$334. When talking of his arrest, Brolin said to a reporter, "It was nice to be in jail knowing that I hadn’t done anything wrong. And it was maddening to be in jail knowing that I hadn’t done anything wrong."Charges against all seven men were later dropped by Shreveport prosecutors.

 

Business interests

When he is not acting, Brolin is an active stock trader and was co-founder of the site MarketProbability.com. The site has since shut down.

 

Filmography

21 Jump Street (TV Series) Taylor Rolator Guest Star

Film and television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Goonies, TheThe Goonies	Brandon "Brand" Walsh
1986	Thrashin'	Corey Webster
1987	Private Eye	Johnny Betz	TV series
1989	Young Riders, TheThe Young Riders	James Butler Hickok	TV series
1994	The Road Killers	Tom
1995	Outer Limits, TheThe Outer Limits	Jack Pierce	TV series, episode: Virtual Future
1996	Bed of Roses	Danny
1996	Flirting with Disaster	Tony Kent
1997	Mimic	Josh
1997	Nightwatch	James Gallman
1997	Gang in Blue	Keith DeBruler	TV
1999	Mod Squad, TheThe Mod Squad	Billy Waites
1999	Best Laid Plans	Bryce
1999	It's the Rage	Tennel
2000	Picnic	Hal Carter	TV
2000	Hollow Man	Matt Kensington	Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor – Science Fiction
2000	Slow Burn	Duster
2003	Mister Sterling	Senator Bill Sterling	TV series
2005	Melinda and Melinda	Greg Earlinger
2005	Into the West	Jedediah Smith	TV miniseries
2005	Into the Blue	Derek Bates
2006	Dead Girl, TheThe Dead Girl	Tarlow
2007	Grindhouse	Dr. William Block	Segment: Planet Terror
2007	In the Valley of Elah	Chief Buchwald
2007	No Country for Old Men	Llewelyn Moss	National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
2007	American Gangster	Det. Reno Trupo	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2008	W.	George W. Bush	Nominated—IFTA Award for Best International Actor Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2008	Milk	Dan White	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
2009	People Speak, TheThe People Speak	Himself	Documentary
2010	Jonah Hex	Jonah Hex
2010	Tillman Story, TheThe Tillman Story	Himself	Narrator
2010	You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger	Roy
2010	Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps	Bretton James
2010	True Grit	Tom Chaney
2012	Men in Black 3	Young Agent K
2012	Mankind: The Story of All of Us	Narrator	TV series, History Channel
2012	Saturday Night Live	Himself and Various	TV series, episode: "Josh Brolin, Gotye"
2013	Gangster Squad	John O'Mara	Completed
2013	Labor Day	Actor	Filming