The Goonies is one of those movies that seems to be universally beloved. There have been hopes dreams and rumors of potential Goonies sequels for decades specifically because so many love it. A big part of the movie’s success has to be chalked up to The Goonies' perfect casting, including a young Josh Brolin as Mikey’s older brother Brand.
The Goonies was Josh Brolin’s first film role, but he tells Rob Lowe on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast he received pushback immediately in Hollywood, as many assumed that he, being the son of actor James Brolin, wasn’t a “serious” actor and he just thought he’d find success because of his family.
As a result, Brolin studied acting by mostly reading books incessantly in order to prove his dedication. This lead to a conversation on the set of The Goonies where Brolin tried to show the film’s producer, Steven Spielberg, just how smart he was at a very young age. When asked by Lowe how old he was, Brolin explained…
16. Like really dumb too, because I'd missed a lot of school. So I said, ‘Hey, don't you think that the tunnels kind of represent my mother's womb? And what if we film me climbing up the tunnel, but really I'm trying to cut that emotional umbilical cord of my mother, and I could have tears coming down my face?’ I went into this whole thing, and I was getting all excited because he was nodding his head, and then I waited.
Brolin says he read the works of Stanislavski, Artaud, and others. He wanted to show he was more than just an actor with famous parents. He was trying to put everything he’d read to use in talking to Spielberg about the metaphorical elements of a story about a bunch of children searching for hidden pirate treasure. For his part, it sounds like Spielberg did really listen, but the producer had a much simpler perspective on the movie. Brolin continued…
And then he looked at me and [Spielberg] said, ‘Why don't you just act? Just say the words on the page, you'll be fine.’ And I could have been like, ‘Dick!’ But I didn't, I was like, ‘Oh, totally. I got it.’
It’s understandable that Josh Brolin could have been upset by this. Spielberg was essentially shutting down a lot of work the young kid had done and making it look irrelevant. At the same time, when Steven Spielberg tells you something about making movies, it’s probably worth listening to him. Kevin Costner regrets not taking Spielberg's advice on Waterworld. Brolin, it seems, did listen.
Today nobody can question Josh Brolin’s bonafides as an actor. He’s starred in massive tentpole blockbusters and movies that have been nominated for Academy Awards, even if he thinks his recent Dune: Part Two is missing a key nomination. and been nominated for an Oscar himself. He may have been “really dumb” at 16, but he’s learned a lot since then.