"Why the f**k would he do that?" - Josh Brolin pokes fun at his father for taking him to watch Apocalypse Now at 11

During an appearance at CinemaCon's annual Creative Community Luncheon last Thursday, Josh Brolin revealed that his father, James Brolin, took him to watch Apocalypse Now when he was just 11.

Josh joined Colman Domingo, Glen Powell, and Edgar Wright on the panel to recount their memorable movie experiences. When Domingo mentioned that he saw Carrie in theaters at 9 and was terrified, Brolin mentioned that he has a "similar story."

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"My dad took me to see Apocalypse Now when I was 11 and that's my first theater experience that I remember. Like, why the f*** would he do that? It makes no sense."

The movie is rated R for its violence, swearing, and dark content and features a retelling of the Vietnam War.

Josh Brolin's father, James Brolin, is a casting director, wildlife activist, and actor. Josh's parents got divorced when he was 16, and he went to live with his father in Los Angeles.

Josh Brolin on being James Brolin's son

In a January 2025 episode of the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast, Josh Brolin noted that despite being the son of the legendary James Brolin, nepotism worked against him when he auditioned for The Goonies.

"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?' So instead of that kind of nepotistic thing, they looked at me and they were like, 'Oh yeah? So act."

Brolin noted that when he first started out in the industry, he went on 350 auditions, sometimes four in one day.

His recent recollection of visiting the theater with his father isn't the first time Josh Brolin has questioned his father's parenting style. During a November 20, 2024, episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Josh revealed that his father, James, once slaughtered and fed their family their pet pig that he had been raising.

"Did he tell you the pig story? What a (expletive). God, man. I don't know what - my dad, oh my dad tell stories."

He then added,

So this story of me raising pigs - this is a horrible story, man - me raising pigs. Oink and Snort, those were their names. And I helped raise these pigs and we're eating dinner one night - it's amazing to me that he would tell you this story, it makes him look so bad - he said, 'Guess what you're eating.' I said, 'What?' He said 'either Oink or Snort."

His father, James Brolin, went on to marry Barbara Streisand in 1998, after divorcing Josh's mother, Jane, in 1984.

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