American film and television actor Josh Brolin was born on February 12, 1968, and is the son of award-winning soap opera actor James Brolin and aspiring actress Jane Cameron Agee. Raised in a California horse ranch, Josh Brolin fell into theatre after playing a part in their school’s production of A Streetcar named Desire. His career skyrocketed when he was 17, landing the role of Brand Walsh in the 1985 film The Goonies, directed by Richard Donner.
Josh Brolin continued work on television, taking roles in various series such as detective Johnny Betts in Private Eye, and as James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok in ABC’s western, The Young Riders. In 1994 he starred in the series Winnetka Road as Jack Passion, and in The Road Killers as Tom in the same year. This was followed by his portrayal of Bill Sterling in Mister Sterling in 2003. Preferring feature film work, his career is composed of low-budget films, but is best known for his portrayal of Matthew Kensington in the 2000 box-office hit Hollow Man, by Paul Verhoeven.
Doing extensive theatre work in Rochester, New York, Josh Brolin has appeared with his mentor and friend Anthony Zerbe in several works. One of these is Planet Terror, a segment in the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse. He also had a role in the Coen brothers’ Award-winning film, No Country for Old Men, as Llewelyn Moss. In 2007, he became Chief Buchwald in the crime-suspense movie In the Valley of Elah, and landed the role of Detective Trupo in the drama-thriller American Gangster, alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
In August 14, 2004, he married actress Diane Lane. They met in 1994 when Brolin was working with her then-husband Christopher Lambert in The Road Killers. In April 2000, he won the 24th Annual Toyota Pro Celebrity Race in Long Beach, California, owing to his other passion of racing cars.