Josh Brolin Opens Up About His Relationship With His Father

Having James Brolin as his father didn’t provide son Josh Brolin with the privileged Hollywood upbringing one might expect.

“There’s always this perception that if your dad’s an actor, it’s going to be easy for you,” Josh tells Closer in an exclusive interview. “My dad was a moderately successful celebrity on TV. He would work and then not work for a long time. We would have things and then we wouldn’t have things. I just didn’t understand that level of financial insecurity when I was a kid.”

Now that Josh, 48, is a certified movie star — his latest film Hail, Caesar! (opposite George Clooney) is now out on DVD and Blu-ray — the actor is revealing new details about his relationship with his 75-year-old father, who along with his mother, actress Jane Cameron Agee, raised him to blaze his own trail on a ranch outside Hollywood.

“Everybody assumes I grew up in Malibu, Calif.” says Josh. “I guess that’s where people assume kids of actors grow up. But in reality, there were the Penns and the Lowes and maybe one other family.”

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Josh did follow his parents into the family business, making his film debut at age 17 in 1985’s cult classic The Goonies — though they never gave him any acting tips! “There’s no advice you can give,” says Josh. “Just be yourself.”

To read the full story on Josh Brolin, pick up the new issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!