The Quick Rap: Three Questions for … Josh Brolin!
How satisfying when an under-the-radar ‘character’ actor bursts out of their seams to announce their official arrival as the hot actor in demand!
With that we nominate the adaptable Josh Brolin as ‘man-of-the-season,’ taking on two meaty roles this fall: opposite Denzel Washington as a crooked N.Y. vice cop in American Gangster; and in the Coen Brothers rugged new ’80s-set feature, No Country for Old Men, where he plays Llewelyn Moss, a flustered Texan hunter who sets off a violent chain reaction when he stubles upon an abandoned $2 million dollar stash.
Hollywood.com: Describe the moment you first learned you were cast in a Coen Brothers film?
Josh Brolin: Well, I was very happy. I think it was more shock then anything. I really wasn’t in a position to be hired by the Coens. I think the fact that I was lucky enough for them to hire who they feel was best for the part, as opposed to who’s the most financially situated at that moment, was really fortunate for me. But more I was interested working with Tommy Lee and Javier Bardem and just being in the same movie with them…I think that the Coens [laughs] was a bigger thing than I was used to! I thought we were going to do the Big Lebowski 2 or something?
HW: Rumor hast it that its humor is in its humorlessness. Very Coen-esque, no?
JB: I think it’s great absurdity. When we were in Toronto [Film Festival] there was a lot of laughter. I was really surprised and very happy about it because there were subtleties in the humor that we chose to do–were really conscientious of doing–and it actually translated, thank god. Some people didn’t get it. … The people who do, it’s a testament to them and how much respect I have for the Coens. To me the people who do, I go, “Ahhh. They get the absurd humor!”
HW: What did you connecte to the most in your impulsive character?
JB: I don’t know if I connected, but I was very taken by the integrity of Moss. The fact that he chose to take the money with the reverence; that he was doing what he did in Vietnam; and he feels that he can create a better life for his wife. I love that about him, and I don’t know if I would’ve done the same. I would hope I would–but we’re not all him.
Josh Brolin’s No Country For Old Men opens in limited release November 9th
American Gangster opens wide in theaters November 2nd.
