Josh Brolinhas certainly appeared in some strange movies over his career, and it might be a result of his childhood, which the actor recently revealed wasn’t always glamorous, despite being the son of revered actorJames Brolin. As well as the phenomenalNo Country for Old Men,The GooniesandDune(to name a few), Brolin has also undertaken some strange roles, like Spike Lee’s questionableOldboyremake, Robert Rodriguez’sPlanet Terror, and the easily forgottenJonah Hex. Although Josh is the son of James Brolin, who is best known for his TV roles inM.D.andHotel. Despite appearing as a Hollywood powerhouse father-and-son duo, their relationship may have been fractured at times.
“Did he tell you the pig story? What a f—ing d–k,“Josh Brolin said during a recent appearance on theIn Depthpodcast. James had previously been on the podcast and told host, Graham Bensinger, a story about the family’s two pigs, during Josh’s childhood. “God, man,” Josh exclaimed, before going on to clarify what actually happened. He began:
“So this story of me raising pigs, this is a horrible story.Oink and Snort, those were their names. I helped raise these pigs,and then we’re eating dinner one night — it’s amazing to me that he would tell you that story. It makes him look so bad.”
“‘Guess what you’re eating,'” his dad said during the dinner. When the young Josh Brolin replied, his father answered,"‘Either Oink or Snort. Yeah, that’s what we’re eating. That’s who we slaughtered.'“Themoment clearly stuck in his brain,as he exclaimed, “why would you tell a kid that?” He continued:
“It makes no sense. Why would you tell your kid that, with any semblance of, like, celebration? Or was he just looking to have an impact?”
Josh Brolin Wasn’t Exactly a Nepo Baby
Josh Brolin was the son of the aforementioned James Brolin, and casting director, Jane Cameron Agee. Movie fans have now taken to callingactors with such upbringings “nepo babies,“implying their family’s connections opened a lot of doors for them. But, when it comes to Josh Brolin, it might not have been the case.“He would work and then not work for a long time.We would have things and then we wouldn’t have things,” he recalled. Josh said he “didn’t understand that level of financial insecurity when I was a kid.”
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Now, with Josh Brolin, 56, and his father, 84, the relationship is still tumultuous. Brolin described his father as a “red light” on a freeway. “My dad’s an interesting guy in that he’s super friendly, but there’s a stop sign. It’s like, before you get on the freeway, there’s red light,” he explained. “You’re ready to go. You’re ready to get on the freeway and go 65, 75 miles an hour, and the light never turns. So you’re sitting there like this and you’re like, It’s presented to me that I’m gonna go. And then the stoplight never changes — it just stays perpetually red.”
