Josh Brolin; it runs in the family…
It’s been a truism throughout Hollywood history that many celebrities’ children enter the show business. However, very few of them grow in both the talent and stature necessary to develop into the stuff that stars are made of. My Brother’s War (2002), a feature produced by Roger while his company Concorde was based in Ireland, paired a lesser known Hollywood father-son duo; James and Josh Brolin.
James Brolin was already a well-established star by the time he helmed My Brother’s War as director; he played in a supporting role on the hit television series, Marcus Webley, M.D. (1969-1976, for which James received an Emmy and two Golden Globe awards), starred in the blockbuster horror film The Amityville Horror (1979), and he even had a role in Steven Sordorberg’s Academy Award® winning Traffic (2000) only a year before he began work on Brother’s. Josh, however, had not yet gained public notoriety when he took his role in this film.
Josh Brolin began his film career as a gooney; literally having played the older brother in the 1985 cult kid’s film The Goonies. Josh would spend the next two decades playing strong supporting characters in big budget Hollywood films such as Guillermo del Toro’s Mimic (1997) and Paul Verhoeven’s Hollow Man (2000). In 2002, Josh was cast in My Brother’s War:
Five years after his role in Brother’s, Josh’s became true star, receiving both critical and public acclaim for his portrayal as Llewellyn Moss in the Coen Brother’s Academy Award® Best Picture winner, No Country for Old Men. Since then, Josh has worked with directors Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, Gus Van Sant, and Woody Allen, playing roles as diverse as a corrupt detective in American Gangster (2007), as President George Bush in W. (2008), and even as a neurotic writer-wannabe going through a mid-life crisis in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. In 2009, Josh received his first—and hopefully not his last—Academy Award® Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Dan White in the Harvey Milk biopic, Milk. Most recently, Josh teamed up with the Coen’s a second time to play Tom Chaney in a modern adaptation of True Grit, a roll that had been previously portrayed by Robert Duvalle in 1969. True Grit has earned 10 Academy Award® Nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year.
Over the last few years, we at New Horizons have watched as Josh has risen up on the Hollywood A-list, and we’re delighted to see that he’s finally filling the roles that he is meant to play and earning the recognition that he deserves. For a talent so tremendous, for having the dedication and fortitude needed to pursue his career, and for a series of performances so resonant that they rattle audiences to the bone, Roger and New Horizons congratulate Josh on all of his success, and we look forward to seeing his work to come!
Don’t forget to watch the 83rd Annual Academy Awards® this Sunday, February 27th at 5pm/8pmET on ABC and help celebrate our Corman Alum, Josh Brolin and Mila Kunis!
