Josh Brolin
Birthdate: February 12, 1968 (58 Years Old)
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, USA
Josh Brolin (birthname: Josh James Brolin) has had one of the more circuitous careers for any contemporary American film actor, initially burdened with a reputation as a poor actor, to a period when he considered quitting acting, to enjoying a resurgence from 2007 onward, including a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination in 2009.
Brolin’s pre-2007 period, however, did see him cast in several significant movies, starting with the Richard Donner-directed The Goonies (1985); David O. Russell’s dark comedy, Flirting with Disaster (1996); Guillermo del Toro’s Mimic (1997); the Steven Soderbergh-written Nightwatch (1997); the Scott Silver-directed TV-to-screen The Mod Squad (1999); director Mike Barker’s Best Laid Plans (1999); Paul Verhoeven’s striking sci-fi thriller, Hollow Man (2000); Victor Nunez’s effective indie, Coastlines (2002); Woody Allen’s Melinda and Melinda (2004); and director/writer Karen Moncrieff’s thriller, The Dead Girl (2006), starring Toni Collette, Brittany Murphy, Rose Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Mary Beth Hurt, Kerry Washington, James Franco and Giovanni Ribisi.
Brolin joined filmmaker Robert Rodriguez for the sci-fi horror segment, Planet Terror of the double-bill feature (made with Quentin Tarantino) Grindhouse (2007), with Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Kurt Russell, and Rosario Dawson, and then.
Brolin landed a supporting role in director/writer Paul Haggis’s In the Valley of Elah (2007), co-starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron, and premiering at the Venice Film Festival. Brolin’s major career turning point happened when he was cast for a co-starring role (earning career-best reviews) in the Coen Brothers’s highly acclaimed screen version of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men (2007), co-starring Jones and Javier Bardem, premiering in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, winning four Oscars (including Best Picture) and earning a phenomenal $171.6 million for Paramount Pictures/Miramax Films/Scott Rudin Productions; Brolin immediately followed up with the Coens playing a contemporary cowboy for their segment titled “World Cinema” for the Cannes Film Festival-commissioned anthology film, Chacun son cinema (To Each His Cinema) (2007).
Josh Brolin played a major supporting role in director/producer Ridley Scott’s crime epic, American Gangster (2007), written by Steven Zaillian and co-starring Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Cuba Gooding Jr., and grossing $270 million for Universal Pictures. Then Brolin was picked by filmmaker Oliver Stone as the President. George W. Bush, portrayed in the biopic W. (2008), alongside Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn, and Richard Dreyfuss, lost money for Lionsgate with a weak $29.5 million take. Brolin followed up with another portrayal of a real-life character as assassin Dan White in filmmaker Gus Van Sant’s biopic, Milk (2008), starring Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, alongside Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, and James Franco, and grossing $54.6 million for Focus Features.
Brolin starred in the title role of the failed DC Comics/Warner Bros.’ superhero movie, Jonah Hex (2010), with John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, and Michael Shannon, and then Brolin served as narrator of the fine biographical documentary about late NFL star Pat Tillman in director Amir Bar-Lev’s The Tillman Story (2010), premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and released by The Weinstein Company.
Brolin was then in his second movie with filmmaker Woody Allen, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), co-starring Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch and Naomi Watts, grossing $36 million for Sony Pictures Classics after premiering out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by Brolin reuniting with another American filmmaker--Oliver Stone--for the sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2011), starring Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon and Eli Wallach, earning a solid $134.7 million for 20th Century Fox after launching at the Cannes Film Festival.
Josh Brolin did another significant reunion in a major role, with the Coen Brothers, for their magnificent screen version (the second, after the 1969 version starring John Wayne) of Charles Portis’ classic Western novel, True Grit (2011), starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld and Barry Pepper, proving a big money-maker for Paramount Pictures ($252 million gross on $38 million costs) and earning ten Oscar nominations (though winning none). Brolin played the younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’s Agent K in the sequel, Men in Black 3 (2012), co-starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones under Barry Sonnenfeld’s direction, returning a hefty $654 million on an equally hefty $250 million budget for Columbia Pictures/Amblin Entertainment.
Brolin had another major starring role in Warner Bros.’ $105 million-grossing period crime epic, Gangster Squad (2013), with Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Pena and Sean Penn under Ruben Fleischer’s direction, and then Brolin starred in the title role Spike Lee’s English-language remake of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (2013) and re-creating Choi Min-sik’s original starring performance, co-starring Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Imperioli, earning a weak $5 million (against $30 million costs) for distributor FilmDistrict. Brolin then co-starred with Kate Winslet in director/writer/producer Jason Reitman’s film version of Joyce Maynard’s 2009 novel, Labor Day (2013), premiering at the Telluride Film Festival and earning a weak $20 million for distributor Paramount Pictures.
Josh Brolin joined many other major film actors in the superhero genre when he was cast by Marvel Studios for the MCU superhero Thanos in a series of movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Brolin reunited with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez when he joined the colorful ensemble of Robert Rodriguez’s and Frank Miller’s commercially failed sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), with Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Ray Liotta and Juno Temple, underperforming at a $40 million gross (on $65 million costs) for The Weinstein Company and co-producers Dimension Films/Miramax/Troublemaker Studios.
Brolin then stepped aboard American indie filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s rollicking screen version of Thomas Pynchon’s novel (the first of any Pynchon book), Inherent Vice (2014), in the role of Lt. Det. Christian “Bigfoot” Bjornsen, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Benicio del Toro, Martin Short and Jena Malone, earning rave reviews after premiering at the New York Film Festival but delivering poor box office (just under $15 million gross on $20 million costs) for distributor Warner Bros.
Brolin went on to establish a steady collaboration with filmmaker Denis Villeneuve in the charged border drama, Sicario (2015), with Emily Blunt, Del Toro and Victor Garber, and then in the sequel directed by Stefano Sollima, Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018), with new cast members Isabela Merced, Jeffrey Donovan, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Catherine Keener, grossing a combined $160 million for distributors Lionsgate and Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing.
Josh Brolin joined the sprawling ensemble of director/producer Baltasar Kormakur’s action drama, Everest (2015), with Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, and Jake Gyllenhaal, premiering as the opening film at the Venice Film Festival and earning a robust $203.4 million for Universal Pictures. Brolin reunited again with the Coen Brothers for the successful period Hollywood comedy, Hail, Caesar! (2016), co-starring George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, and Michael Gambon, grossing $63.6 million (on $22 million costs) for Universal Pictures.
Brolin starred in the docudrama about the firefighting unit, Granite Mountain Hotshots, Only the Brave (2017), directed by Joseph Kosinski and co-starring Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale, Taylor Kitsch and Jennifer Connelly, well reviewed by critics but rejected by audiences (a poor $26 million return), and then Brolin returned to the MCU as the time-traveling cyber soldier, Cable, in the co-starring role in the sequel, Deadpool 2 (2018), starring and produced by (with Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner) Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison and Zazie Beetz under David Leitch’s direction and grossing a robust $786 million globally for Marvel Entertainment/20th Century Fox. Brolin co-starred in director/star Sean Penn’s drama, Flag Day (2021), with Dylan Penn, Regina King, Dale Dickey, and Eddie Marsan, and premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival before a modest MGM/UA Releasing theatrical run.
Josh Brolin appeared as Gurney in Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed two-part epic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen M. Henderson and Zendaya, and which earned $1.12 billion for producer Legendary Pictures and distributor Warner Bros. as well as several Oscar nominations including two Best Picture picks. Brolin co-starred with Peter Dinklage in Amazon Prime’s crime comedy, Brothers (2024), with Taylour Paige, M. Emmet Walsh, Brendan Fraser and Glenn Close under Max Barbakow’s direction, and then Brolin co-starred in one of his few horror movies with co-star Julia Garner in director/writer/producer Zach Cregger’s Weapons (2025), with Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan, produced by New Line Cinema/Vertigo Entertainment/BoulderLight Pictures and released wide by Warner Bros.
Brolin joined the ensemble of director/writer/producer Rian Johnson’s third, standalone feature in the Knives Out series, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025), starring Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington and Thomas Haden Church, and launching at the Toronto Film Festival before a Netflix theatrical and streaming release.
Brolin co-starred in director/co-writer/producer Edgar Wright’s screen version for Paramount Pictures of Stephen King’s (aka Richard Bachman) 1982 novel, The Running Man (2025), starring Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera and Colman Domingo, followed by Brolin co-starring in director/producer Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie for 20th Century Studios, The Dog Stars (2026), based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel and co-starring Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce and Benedict Wong; and then Brolin co-starred with Austin Abrams and Elisabeth Shue in director/co-writer/producer Brian Duffield’s survival thriller, Whalefall (date to be announced), produced (in part) by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and released by 20th Century Studios.
Brolin reunited with director/co-writer/producer Denis Villeneuve for the trilogy finale Dune: Part Three (2026), co-written by Jon Spaihts and based on Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel, Dune Messiah, with new cast member Robert Pattinson joining the ongoing cast of Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson and Anya Taylor-Joy, produced by Legendary Pictures and released by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Personal life
Josh Brolin was born in Santa Monica and raised in the south-central coastal California cities of Paso Robles and Santa Barbara by his parents, actor James Brolin and the late Jane Cameron (casting director, wildlife activist). Brolin’s stepmother is Barbra Streisand, who married James Brolin in 1998. Brolin has one brother, Jess, and one half-sister, Molly. Brolin graduated from Santa Barbara High School. Brolin was married to Alice Adair from 1988 to 1992, when they divorced; the couple has two children, Eden and Trevor. Brolin was married to actor Diane Lane from 2004 to 2013, when they divorced. Brolin has been married to Kathryn Boyd Brolin since 2016; the couple has two children, Westlyn and Chapel. Brolin’s height is 5’ 10½ ”. Brolin’s estimated net worth is $25 million.
Josh Brolin Movies
Actor
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Previous (27)
- 2026 |
Flag Day
asUncle Beck
Set in the small farming community of Three Oaks, Michigan — home to the nation’s largest Flag Day parade — Flag Day is a verité portrait of ritual, identity, and belonging in an era of deep political division. Somewhere between tradition and transformation lies this village, whose annual parade has become a pageant of American aspiration and memory.
- 2025 |
- 2025 |
The Running Man
asDan Killian
A man joins a game show in which contestants, allowed to flee anywhere in the world, are pursued by "hunters" hired to kill them.
- 2025 |
- 2024 |
Dune: Part Two
asGurney Halleck
Paul Atreides unites with the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future.
- 2021 |
Dune: Part One
asGurney Halleck
Paul Atreides arrives on Arrakis after his father accepts the stewardship of the dangerous planet. However, chaos ensues after a betrayal as forces clash to control melange, a precious resource.
- 2021 |
Dune: Part One
asGurney HalleckPaul Atreides arrives on Arrakis after his father accepts the stewardship of the dangerous planet. However, chaos ensues after a betrayal as forces clash to control melange, a precious resource.
- 2018 |
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
asMatt Graver
The drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US border. To fight the war, federal agent Matt Graver re-teams with the mercurial Alejandro.
- 2018 |
Deadpool 2
asCable
Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool) assembles a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy with abilities from the brutal, time-traveling cyborg Cable.
- 2017 |
Only the Brave
asEric Marsh
Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from a historic wildfire.
- 2016 |
- -- | as Cable
- -- | as Dwight
- -- | Labor Dayas Frank
- -- | Men in Black 3as Young Agent K
- -- | as Cable
- -- | Sicarioas Matt Graver
- -- | The Gooniesas Brand
- -- | as Brand
- -- | as Cable
- -- | No Country for Old Menas Llewelyn Moss
- -- | Sin City: A Dame to Kill Foras Dwight
- -- | Gangster Squadas Sgt. John O'Mara
- -- | Hollow Manas Matthew Kensington
- -- | American Gangsteras Detective Trupo
- -- | as Bangley
- -- | as Mitt Gardiner
Facts About Josh Brolin
Turnaround: Josh Brolin, incredibly, considered quitting acting altogether, but within a year found himself cast by the Coen Brothers in a co-starring role in their masterpiece, No Country for Old Men, which transformed Brolin from a has-been to a strong, in-demand talent.
Playing President: Brolin has portrayed George W. Bush (in Oliver Stone’s W) while his father, James Brolin, portrayed Ronald Reagan.
