Josh Brolin

Josh Brolin is an American actor whose career has moved from 1980s youth adventure to prestige drama, blockbuster franchises, and character-driven television. Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1968, he is the son of actor James Brolin and casting director and wildlife activist Jane Cameron Agee. Although he came from a family connected to entertainment, Brolin’s public profile developed unevenly: an early burst of visibility was followed by years of smaller film, television, and stage work before a major mid-career resurgence made him one of Hollywood’s most recognizable supporting and leading actors.

Brolin’s first widely remembered film role was Brandon “Brand” Walsh in Richard Donner’s The Goonies, released in 1985. The film became a durable popular favorite, but Brolin did not immediately settle into a conventional teen-star path. He worked in television, including the western series The Young Riders, and built experience in roles that ranged across action, drama, and comedy. In the 1990s and early 2000s he appeared in projects such as Flirting with Disaster, Mimic, Hollow Man, and Mister Sterling, gradually establishing himself as an actor capable of projecting both physical toughness and emotional unease.

His career changed decisively in 2007 with the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men, in which he played Llewelyn Moss, the hunter whose discovery of drug money places him in a fatal chain of pursuit. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and brought Brolin renewed critical attention. The same period included American Gangster and In the Valley of Elah, and the momentum continued with Oliver Stone’s W., where he played President George W. Bush, and Gus Van Sant’s Milk, where he portrayed San Francisco supervisor Dan White. His work in Milk earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.