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Josh Brolin

 
Who2 Biography: Josh Brolin, Actor
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  • Born: 12 February 1968
  • Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
  • Best Known As: Llewelyn Moss in the movie No Country for Old Men

More than two decades after starting as an actor, Josh Brolin finally got heaps of praise in 2007, thanks to dramatic roles in American Gangster (opposite Denzel Washington) and No Country for Old Men (opposite Javier Bardem). The son of TV star James Brolin (Marcus Welby, M.D.), Josh started in the business in his teens. He played jocks in the movies Goonies (1985, produced by Steven Spielberg) and Thrashin' (1986), then worked steadily in television throughout the early 1990s. He surprised critics with a comedic turn as a gay cop in Flirting with Disaster (1996, starring Ben Stiller), then took small roles in offbeat movies while making money trading stocks. Brolin was all over the place in 2007: he appeared in the Robert Rodriguez-Tarantino Grindhouse project, he nearly stole the show in Ridley Scott's American Gangster, he won a Screen Actors Guild Award with the other stars of the Coen brothers movie No Country for Old Men, and he had a supporting role in the Paul Haggis drama In the Valley of Elah (starring Charlize Theron).

Brolin's stepmother is Barbara Streisand)... Brolin married actress Diane Lane in 2004... He also wrote and directed a short film, X (2008), featuring performances by his daughter Eden Brolin and stepdaughter Eleanor Lambert.

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Actor: Josh Brolin
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Feb 12, 1968 in Templeton, California
  • Occupation: Actor, Writer, Director
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Crime
  • Career Highlights: The Goonies, It's The Rage, Nightwatch
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Goonies (1985)

Biography

Rugged leading man Josh Brolin was raised on a horse ranch in California, a fact that would come to inform his persona as an actor in years to come. But when the 17 year old made his big-screen debut in 1985's The Goonies, most viewers knew him as the son of actor James Brolin. The younger Brolin didn't shy away from his Hollywood roots, and when he relocated to L.A. to pursue an acting career, he moved in with his dad while he studied the craft under the esteemed Stella Adler. He soon followed his appearance in The Goonies with a lead role in the series Private Eye, and though the show didn't last, Brolin decided to stay in TV, starring in the Western series Young Riders.

The show ended its three-year run in 1992, when Brolin's marriage to Alice Adair ended as well, and Brolin seemed intent on flying under the radar for the next several years, pursuing mostly smaller, independent projects like My Brother's War and Mimic. In 2004, he married actress Diane Lane. In 2007, he caught on with a new core group of fans when he played the sinister Doc Block in Robert Rodriguez's instant cult favorite Planet Terror, one half of the Grindhouse double feature. Later that same year, however, he would be reintroduced to audiences on a much huger scale when he took the lead role in the Coen brothers' highly acclaimed No Country for Old Men. The sleeper film would become one of the biggest films of the year, winning the Oscar for Best Picture and making Brolin a household name for the first time in over a decade.

Brolin next signed on to play the title role in W., Oliver Stone's satirical biopic about president George W. Bush. Buzz gathered around the project before so much as a trailer was released, praising the actor's complete transformation into what had originally seemed like a strange role for him to play. Although the buzz was that he would garner some awards for his role as the 43rd President, it turned out that a different political film from 2008 would bring him the biggest accolades of his career. His portrayal of Dan White, the man who assassinated Harvey Milk, in Gus Van Sant's Milk garnered Brolin his first Academy Award nomination, as well as a nod from the Screen Actors Guild. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Josh Brolin
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Josh Brolin

Brolin at Flaunt Magazine's 9th Anniversary Bash and Holiday Toy Drive, December 2007
Born Josh James Brolin
February 12, 1968 (1968-02-12) (age 41)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1985–present
Spouse(s) Alice Adair (1988–1992)
Diane Lane (2004–present)

Josh James Brolin (born February 12, 1968)[1] is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films No Country for Old Men and Milk.

Contents

Early life

Brolin was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Jane Cameron Agee, a wildlife activist and native of Corpus Christi, Texas, and actor James Brolin.[2][3] Brolin was raised on a California ranch with little exposure to his father's acting career.[4] His parents divorced when he was 18 and his stepmother by his father's current marriage is singer/actress Barbra Streisand. He became interested in acting after taking an improv acting class in high school.[4]

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 then offered the role of Tom Hanson in the series 21 Jump Street, but turned it down to star in the series Private Eye (1987), which lasted half a season. The role of Hanson instead went to Johnny Depp.[5] Brolin guest-starred in an episode of the show in its first season.[6]

For several years, Brolin appeared in stage roles in Rochester, New York, often alongside mentor and friend Anthony Zerbe.[4] 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).[4] 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 mainly of supporting, villainous roles. His most recent film work includes the Planet Terror segment of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse, the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning film No Country for Old Men, and Gus van Sant's Milk.[4] His biggest box office success to date was as the menacing Detective Trupo in American Gangster (2007), which grossed US$265,495,454 worldwide.[7]

Brolin also starred in director Oliver Stone's 2008 film W., a biopic about key events in the life of President George W. Bush.[4][8] Stone pursued an initially hesitant Brolin for the role. He said of his decision to cast Brolin in the leading role:[9]

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.[10] He made news by wearing a White Knot to the Academy Awards ceremony to demonstrate solidarity with the marriage equality movement.[11] 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 cast-mates 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."[12] Brolin has received critical acclaim for his performance and, in addition to his Oscar nomination, 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.

When he is not acting, Brolin is an active stock trader and is co-founder of the site MarketProbability.com.[13]

Personal life

Brolin has been married to actress Diane Lane since August 15, 2004. Brolin has two children, Trevor Mansur (b. 26 June 1988) and Eden (b. 1994) from a previous marriage to actress Alice Adair. On December 20, 2004, 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.[14]

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.[15][16] Of his arrest, Brolin told 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."[17] Charges against all seven men were later dropped by Shreveport prosecutors.[18]

His childhood nickname is "Dirty".

He endorsed Barack Obama during the 2008 election.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1985 The Goonies Brandon "Brand" Walsh
1986 Thrashin' Corey Webster
1987 Private Eye Johny Betz TV series
1989 The Young Riders James Butler Hickok TV series
1995 Outer Limits: Season 1: Episode 8: Virtual Future Jack Pierce (Star) TV Series
1996 Bed of Roses Danny
1996 Flirting with Disaster Tony Kent
1997 Mimic Josh
Nightwatch James Gallman
1999 The Mod Squad Billy Waites
Best Laid Plans Bryce
It's the Rage Tennel
2000 Picnic Hal Carter TV
Hollow Man Matt Kensington
Slow Burn Duster
2003 Mister Sterling Senator Bill Sterling TV series
2005 Melinda and Melinda Greg Earlinger
Into the West Jedediah Smith miniseries
Into the Blue Derek Bates
2006 The Dead Girl Tarlow
2007 Grindhouse - Planet Terror Dr. William Block
In the Valley of Elah Chief Buchwald
No Country for Old Men Llewelyn Moss
American Gangster Det. Trupo
2008 W. George W. Bush
Milk Dan White New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
2010 Jonah Hex Jonah Hex post-production
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger filming
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps Bretton James filming

References

  1. ^ Screen World 2003, By John Willis, Barry Monush. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation, 2004. ISBN 1557835284, 9781557835284
  2. ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (2009-02-09). "Josh Brolin Mines Emotional Depths". The Jewish Journal. http://www.jewishjournal.com/oscars/article/joshbrolin_200902191/. Retrieved 2009-02-19. 
  3. ^ Barnes, Michael; Elizabeth Peterman (2007-11-15). "Josh Brolin is everywhere these days, including Austin". Austin 360. http://www.austin360.com/movies/content/movies/stories/2007/11/1117brolin.html. Retrieved 2007-11-17. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2008
  5. ^ Mair, George. "21 Jump Street". The Barry Diller Story: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Entertainment Mogul. John Wiley and Sons. p. 148. ISBN 9780471299486. 
  6. ^ "My Future's so Bright, I got to Wear Shades". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/21-jump-street/my-futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades/episode/88464/summary.html. Retrieved 2008-09-30. 
  7. ^ "Hollow Man". The-Numbers. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2000/HOLMN.php. Retrieved 2008-09-30. 
  8. ^ RTÉ.ie Entertainment: Stone and Brolin to make Bush biopic
  9. ^ Kevin West (October 2008), Josh Brolin, W magazine, http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2008/10/josh_brolin?currentPage=1, retrieved 2008-11-19 
  10. ^ www.imdb.com Josh Brolin page
  11. ^ http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/white-knot-oscars-and-spirit-awards-lists/
  12. ^ Kevin West (October 2008), Josh Brolin, W magazine, http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2008/10/josh_brolin?currentPage=1, retrieved 2008-11-19 
  13. ^ Sam Allis (2007-11-04). "Josh Brolin is more than just a familiar face". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2007/11/04/josh_brolin_is_more_than_just_a_familiar_face/. Retrieved 2008-10-13. 
  14. ^ New York Crime Headlines and Articles - NY Daily News
  15. ^ "Actor Brolin arrested after fight". BBC News. July 14, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7504772.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  16. ^ "Brolin, Wright, others in film crew arrested". Associated Press. July 13, 2008. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jaO9-M1rYgh5SrfggAL-ASndrUBAD91SN3KG0. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  17. ^ Kevin West (October 2008), Josh Brolin, W magazine, http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2008/10/josh_brolin?currentPage=1, retrieved 2008-11-19 
  18. ^ Attorney says charges against Brolin to be dropped Yahoo News, January 6, 2009

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