2025 may arguably be the finest year of Josh Brolin’s career, but it’s inarguably his most prolific.
His latest film, The Running Man, strides into theaters this Friday on the heels of this past summer’s genre hit, Weapons. If that wasn’t enough, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery begins its select theatrical rollout on Nov. 26. In between releases, Brolin also shot Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars, Brian Duffield’s Whalefall and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three. He’s now gearing up to shoot Mister, the feature directorial debut from longtime Mission: Impossible second unit director and stunt coordinator, Wade Eastwood.
In the case of Running Man, Brolin’s long-awaited collaboration with filmmaker Edgar Wright began at 2007’s Cannes Film Festival. The actor was there celebrating the world premiere of his first Coen brothers’ film, No Country for Old Men, which would go on to win the Oscar for best picture. Wright also happened to be in attendance, and the two struck up a friendship at the after party.
“There’s a picture that I showed Edgar of me kissing his cheek that I’m sure was drunkenly. So Cannes [2007] was the beginning for us, and when we’d see each other through the years, we’d always talk about working together and finding something together,” Brolin tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of The Running Man’s Nov. 14 theatrical release.
Wright is one of those directors who’s friends with everyone, so Brolin would often bump into him while acting on other sets, including that of Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man.
“[Wright] always reminds me that every time I see him, he’s visiting a director or somebody that I’m working with at the time. And when I see him behind the monitor, I always go, ‘Ugh,’ before going about my day,” Brolin recalls. “There’s just a funny repartee that we have. I saw him on Knives Out, and that must’ve been the moment where he was like, ‘Maybe Josh can …’”
Shortly thereafter, Wright cast Brolin as The Running Man’s Dan Killian, the executive producer behind the deadly in-universe competition series of the same name. In the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led 1987 film, Richard Dawson memorably played a version of Killian that also served as the host of the bloodthirsty show. In this adaptation, Wright stayed more faithful to Stephen King’s (as Richard Bachman) source material in which the host and EP are two different characters. (Colman Domingo plays the MC, Bobby “Bobby T” Thompson.)
Killian sets his sights on the ideal contestant, Glen Powell’s Ben Richards, who’s struggling to provide for his wife and ailing child. For inspiration, Brolin repurposed tidbits he’s pocketed by way of his personal and professional relationships with entertainment execs and billionaires.
“We all talk about how more debaucherous it was back in the day. When you’d take somebody out and get them drunk, they’d reveal stuff to you that you didn’t even particularly want to hear. And you’d go, ‘Oh my God,’” Brolin shares. “So it was useful to be able to think back on all those useless nights where I was trying to get something for another character and realize, ‘Oh, wow, I can use that.’”
Brolin’s previous banner year was 2018, which featured the likes of Avengers: Infinity War; Deadpool 2 and Sicario: Day of the Soldado. With regard to the latter, there’s been a steady demand ever since for a trilogy capper, and Brolin, as well as his Sicario producers at Black Label Media, have each offered positive updates to THR in 2022 and 2023. However, the waiting game is still ongoing, and Brolin still isn’t sure what’s what.
“I keep hearing that it’s right around the corner. I know it’s there. When we do it, I don’t know when that is, but I know it’s there,” Brolin says. “So I’m excited about the prospect of it, but you can’t wait too long because we’ll have walkers.”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Brolin also discusses a notable change to the Weapons script he helped influence.
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Between everything that’s releasing this year and everything you’ve shot this year, where does 2025 rank overall?
It’s a good year, and there’s two ways to look at it. There’s from your perspective, which is, “Oh, the movie did well. The movie did this or that.” I did five movies back to back, so I’m really happy with the year. I’m really happy with the choices. Sometimes, you’re not as happy with the choices. It’s not just based on audience reaction; it’s based on how I feel about the movie. But I feel really good about what we did. I like the types of movies. Weapons was a sleeper, and we didn’t imagine what ended up happening. So it’s a good start. (Laughs.) I feel good about the jobs personally. [Brolin shot Weapons, Wake Up Dead Man, The Running Man, The Dog Stars and Whalefall consecutively, plus a smaller part in Dune: Part Three, per the source material.]
You and Edgar Wright were both a part of Grindhouse in differing capacities. Did you first meet through that? Or was it through No Country for Old Men’s Cannes premiere in 2007?
At Cannes [for No Country], yeah. I hadn’t met him before that. There’s a picture that I showed Edgar of me kissing his cheek that I’m sure was drunkenly. So Cannes was the beginning for us, and when we’d see each other through the years, we’d always talk about working together and finding something together. He always reminds me that every time I see him, he’s visiting a director or somebody that I’m working with at the time. And when I see him behind the monitor, I always go, “Ugh,” before going about my day. There’s just a funny repartee that we have. I saw him on Knives Out [Wake Up Dead Man set], and that must’ve been the moment where he was like, “Maybe Josh can …” Maybe he thought it before, but it was really nice to be able to work with him because I enjoy him a lot. He’s a good dude.
In Running Man, you’re basically playing one half of Richard Dawson’s character. He played both the host and the executive producer in the original 1987 film. But here, you and Colman Domingo are splitting those respective duties as per Stephen King’s (aka Richard Bachman) book. Did you base your Killian on any execs you’ve met over the years?
A few! I’ve crossed paths with a lot. That — and billionaires who I’ve met. I know a few now. There are actually a couple of guys who come to mind that are super, super sweet. We all talk about how more debaucherous it was back in the day. When you’d take somebody out and get them drunk, they’d reveal stuff to you that you didn’t even particularly want to hear. And you’d go, “Oh my God.” So I thought about what’s behind the facade and what’s behind the cosmetics of what they’re presenting and the performative thing. So it was useful to be able to think back on all those useless nights where I was trying to get something for another character and realize, “Oh, wow, I can use that.” So there’s a few in there.
Does Killian consciously use his smile and hand gestures to get what he wants?
I think he’s very aware of everything that he does. I think he’s very aware of how ingratiating he can or cannot be, and how to exploit the weaknesses of the people he’s dealing with. Glen’s character is a little different, but even with Glen’s character, he’s able to do it. When Glen’s character gets mad at him, it only makes Killian happier. Any kind of emotional reaction to anything he says and does means that he’s got a hook in him. I’ve known guys like that who prey off the weak, and whether it’s for ratings or whatever it is, it’s really all to feed the ego.
Are you responsible for Colman’s character, Bobby T, being spokesman for Liquid Death? Did you broker that deal since it fits this bloodthirsty world so well?
No, I didn’t actually broker it, but I was definitely inside it. Mike Cessario started Liquid Death, and I am an investor in Liquid Death. I have to have Liquid Death everywhere I go. (Laughs.) That’s the one actor-y thing that I have to have. Wherever I am, I have to have Liquid Death.
We’ve reached the all-too-familiar part of your press tour where yet another grown man begs and pleads for Sicario 3. In 2023, Sicario producers, Molly Smith and Thad Luckinbill, told me that it was practically right around the corner. (In 2022,Brolin himself informed me that it had been written and rewritten.) So what’s been the bottleneck in this case?
It’s just a really big corner. There’s a very small ratio on the steering wheel. At one point, I said, “I don’t think there’s going to be a Sicario 3. I doubt it’s going to happen.” And then there was all this [commotion]. Molly, Thad and Trent [Luckinbill] came out and said something. So I also keep hearing that it’s right around the corner. I know it’s there. When we do it, I don’t know when that is, but I know it’s there. So I’m excited about the prospect of it, but you can’t wait too long because we’ll have walkers.
One of the funniest scenes of the year is when your character, Archer, had a tough time disposing of Austin Abrams’ James in Weapons. Did it feel comedic on the day?
It was intended to be comedic, but I don’t think it felt that way [on the day] because throwing somebody across a room isn’t necessarily comedic. But the amount of times it happened, there’s a very fine line in comedy that any comic knows. If you say something too much, it can be annoying, and if you say something too much, it can also be super funny. Is it three times? Is it five times? Is it six times? So Zach [Cregger] had his finger on the pulse of something that was not only ingeniously scary, but almost absurdly funny the whole movie. I don’t know how he did that. It’s a tone that I still don’t know how he pulled off.
Was it odd for you and Austin to play father and son not long after that in Brian Duffield’s Whalefall?
No, strangely enough, and I don’t know why. I was so obsessed with that movie [Whalefall] and that character. I just love that movie, and I love that book [by Daniel Kraus]. I remember reading it when I was doing The DogStars in Italy with Ridley [Scott], and I just sobbed afterwards for whatever personal reasons. So I was very grateful to be a part of that story and that job. I thought Austin did amazing in Weapons. He was a standout in Weapons, and I think he’s going to be amazing in Whalefall.
I read an earlier version of Zach Cregger’s Weapons script, and there was a really effective change made to the construction site scene. In the script, Archer reams his crew for the mistakes that they have made, but in the movie, Archer is the one who made the mistakes due to being distracted by his grief. Were you involved in that change?
We talked about it. There was something about him taking responsibility, but also him being able to shamefully get angry at himself. It’s more about just displaying his default, which is frustration and anger. He then loses his kid and all that stuff starts to get shaved away. That’s why he says to his kid [in his dream], “I wish I had said, ‘I love you.’ I wish I had said this, I wish I had done that.” But it’s not until you lose the thing that you value the most that you’re able to come to terms with your feelings about it, and that was the case in that movie.
Lastly, you’re a chameleon on the screen, but you’re also a chameleon off the screen. You fit in with the surfers, the skaters, the bikers, the punks and the cowboys. Have you ever made sense of your adaptability?
I’m just interested, man. I’m just interested. I’m a whore. (Laughs.) It sounds stupid, but I’m interested in how people think and why they do what they do and what makes them tick. And it’s not just me an arm’s length away, going, “Hmm, I’m studying you.” I like it! I like surfing. I like skateboarding. I like motorcycle riding. I don’t want to just go 50 miles and call myself a motorcyclist. I want to go 1200 miles and be totally exhausted and sunburned by the time I get back, so I do that. I want the full experience. This whole thing and this whole professional conversation that we’re having is purely selfish for me. I’m utilizing everything for my own benefit, and my own benefit is to make this as colorful an experience as I can make it.
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The Running Man opens in movie theaters on Nov. 14.
