Josh Brolin

(Tom Wolfe describes a 1965 Windansea Beach surfing friendship group in his book The Pump House Gang).

He admitted to stealing cars to pay for his drug use, which included heroin, a drug that he explained he did not like: "I mean, I never got into it and I never died from it, which is a good thing. I've had 19 friends who died. Most of those guys I grew up with, they're all dead now," later: "The group of guys that I grew up with, 37 of them are dead."

Josh James Brolin (born February 12, 1968) is an American actor.

Brolin was born on February 12, 1968, in Santa Monica, California, the son of Jane Cameron (née Agee 1939–1995), a casting director and wildlife activist, and actor James Brolin.

Brolin was raised on a ranch in the Adelaida area of Paso Robles, attending elementary and middle school in Templeton, California, and around age 11, he moved to the Santa Barbara area, where he attended Santa Barbara High School.

with little exposure to his father's acting career.

His parents divorced in 1984 when he was 16.

A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film The Goonies (1985).

Brolin started his career in TV films and guest roles on TV shows before landing a more notable role as Brandon Walsh in the Richard Donner-directed film The Goonies (1985).

He was considered for the role of Tom Hanson in the series 21 Jump Street; Brolin and Johnny Depp were the finalists for the role, and the two became close and remained friends.

The role ultimately went to Depp.

Brolin guest-starred in an episode of the show in its first season.

One of Brolin's more prominent roles early in his career was that of "Wild Bill" Hickok in the ABC western TV series The Young Riders, which lasted three seasons (1989–92).

Brolin played a small role in the 1994 movie Roadflower.

He has implied that he turned away from film acting for years after the premiere of his second film, Thrashin', where Brolin witnessed what he called "horrendous" acting on his part.

For several years, Brolin appeared in stage roles in Rochester, New York, often alongside mentor and friend Anthony Zerbe.

Two other TV series Brolin was involved in include the Aaron Spelling production Winnetka Road (1994) and Mister Sterling (2003), both of which were cancelled after a few episodes.

By 2006, Brolin was trading stocks full time when he booked the lead role in the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning film No Country for Old Men (2007).

The film became a critical and commercial success.

After years of decline, Brolin had a resurgence with his starring role in the crime film No Country for Old Men (2007).

Brolin would go on to book a part in the similarly successful Ridley Scott film American Gangster (2007).

Brolin received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dan White in the biopic Milk (2008).

His other notable films include W. (2008), True Grit (2010), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Men in Black 3 (2012), Oldboy (2013), Inherent Vice (2014), Everest (2015), Sicario (2015), Hail, Caesar! (2016), Only the Brave (2017), Dune (2021), and Dune: Part Two (2024).

In 2008, Brolin starred in another Oliver Stone film, 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 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 same-sex marriage movement.

Brolin told an interviewer that co-star 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, "[Penn] walked right up and grabbed me and planted a huge one right on my lips", Brolin said.

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.

Also in 2008, Brolin hosted Saturday Night Live, the same night as musical guest, Adele.

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.

He went on to host again in April 2012 and March 2024.

Brolin said in a 2014 interview that during his youth, he was a member of a surfing friendship group who called themselves the "Cito Rats".

In his description of the group, Brolin said, "It was Santa Barbara. It was the '80s. It was punk rock. You either had the children of rich, neglectful parents or children of poor, so it was a mix. But we basically grew up the same way. I've never seen a group like that before or since."

Brolin gained wider recognition for playing Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including in the films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), as well as Cable in Deadpool 2 (2018).