Josh Brolin Says Nepotism, Famous Dad Affected His ‘Goonies’ Audition

• Josh Brolin spoke about auditioning for “The Goonies” on the podcast “Literally! With Rob Lowe.”
• Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin, said he auditioned multiple times to prove his talent.
• “Instead of that kind of nepotistic thing, they looked at me and they were like, ‘Oh yeah? So act,'” he said.

Josh Brolin says his famous lineage backfired and put him at a disadvantage when he auditioned for “The Goonies.”

“‘I think ‘Goonies’ was quite an accident,” Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin and Jane Cameron Agee, said during an interview on the podcast “Literally! With Rob Lowe.”

“I went in there, I’d been told, they pulled the Brolin thing, ‘Are you Brolin’s kid? You want to be an actor, huh?'” Brolin continued. “So instead of that kind of nepotistic thing, they looked at me and they were like, ‘Oh yeah? So act.'”

Brolin made his film debut in the 1985 adventure movie directed by Richard Donner and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, who also wrote the story.

The movie centered on a group of misfits led by Sean Astin’s Mikey Walsh. Brolin starred as his red bandana-wearing older brother, Brand Walsh.

Brolin said that prior to auditioning for “The Goonies,” his mom had kicked him out of their house, and he was staying on his dad’s couch. Then 16, said he’d already missed a considerable amount of high school days and “really wanted to try something new.”

“I said, maybe I should do this acting thing,” Brolin recalled. “It’s kinda what everybody resorts to when they don’t know what to do. They either become a real estate agent or an actor. So I chose acting.”

Brolin said that he went on 350 auditions, sometimes even four in one day. He vowed to prove himself to casting directors who may have speculated that he wanted to take advantage of his famous connection so he could easily land roles.

So he studied acting, read books, and “stayed in a bookstore 90% of the time.” Then he met director Donner and Spielberg and it all clicked.

“I just looked right for the part,” Brolin said. “You look at Sean Astin, you look at the type of movie it is, I looked like a bit of a bad boy, but sort of a jock, and I was in good shape, so they were like, ‘That’s the guy.'”

“I went back six times, just so they could make sure, and then I did it,” he said.

Brolin went on to land notable roles in films like “No Country For Old Men,” “True Grit,” “Sicario,” and the “Dune” franchise. He’s also known for playing the villains Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Cable in “Deadpool 2.”

Brolin reminisced about his breakout role during an interview with Howard Stern in November in support of his memoir, “From Under the Truck.”

Brolin said that “The Goonies” was a lucky break, and he knows that perhaps being the son of James opened the door for his acting career. However, he believed that he was a good fit for the part of Brand.

“I was the right guy,” Brolin said. “I look at that objectively now and I go, ‘That’s the perfect specimen for that role.'”