Detailed Biography

Josh James Brolin is an Academy Award nominated 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.

Early life

Brolin was born in Templeton, California, the son of Jane Cameron Agee, a wildlife activist and native of Corpus Christi, Texas, and actor James Brolin. Brolin was raised on a California ranch with little exposure to his father's acting career. 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.

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 . 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 , which lasted half a season. The role of Hanson instead went to Johnny Depp. Brolin guest-starred in an episode of the show in its first season.

For several years, Brolin appeared in stage roles in Rochester, New York, often alongside mentor and friend Anthony Zerbe. 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 . Two other TV series he was involved in include the Aaron Spelling production Winnetka Road and Mister Sterling , 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. His biggest box office success to date was as the menacing Detective Trupo in American Gangster , which grossed US$265,495,454 worldwide.

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

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. He made news by wearing a White Knot to the Academy Awards ceremony to demonstrate solidarity with the marriage equality movement. 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, " walked right up and grabbed me and planted a huge one right on my lips." 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.

Personal life

Brolin has been married to actress Diane Lane since August 15, 2004. Brolin has two children, Trevor Mansur and Eden 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.

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. 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." Charges against all seven men were later dropped by Shreveport prosecutors.

His childhood nickname is "Dirty".

He endorsed Barack Obama during the 2008 election.