Josh Brolin was a teenage star at 17, spent the next two decades fighting to be taken seriously, then came back in his late thirties as one of Hollywood’s most dependable actors. From The Goonies to No Country for Old Men, from Thanos to Gurney Halleck in Dune, his career is a story of second chances, and in November 2026 he was back in the headlines for renewing his vows in Las Vegas.
| Full name | Josh James Brolin |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | February 12, 1968 |
| Age | 58 (as of November 2026) |
| Birthplace | Santa Monica, California, USA |
| Occupation | Actor, producer, author |
| Parents | James Brolin (actor) and Jane Cameron Agee (casting director) |
| Breakthrough | No Country for Old Men (2007) |
| Major nomination | Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor, Milk (2008) |
| Spouse | Kathryn Boyd Brolin (married 2016) |
| Children | Four |
Early Life
Josh James Brolin was born on February 12, 1968, in Santa Monica, California. His father is the actor James Brolin; his mother, Jane Cameron Agee, worked as a casting director and was known as a wildlife activist. Years later his father married Barbra Streisand, which made the singer his stepmother.
Despite the Hollywood family, Brolin did not grow up in Los Angeles. He was raised on a ranch in the Adelaida area of Paso Robles, on California’s Central Coast, and went to school in nearby Templeton. That rural childhood shaped the rugged, physical screen presence that directors would later prize. Around the age of 11 he moved to the Santa Barbara area, where he attended Santa Barbara High School and took an interest in acting.
Career
A teenage start: The Goonies and The Young Riders (1985-1992)
Brolin’s first big role came almost immediately. In 1985 he played Brandon Walsh, the older brother of Sean Astin’s character, in The Goonies, the Richard Donner adventure that became a generational favorite. He also made the 1986 skateboarding film Thrashin’.
Around this time he was a finalist for the lead in 21 Jump Street. The part went to Johnny Depp, and the two became friends. Brolin then found steady television work as Wild Bill Hickok in the ABC Western The Young Riders, which ran from 1989 to 1992.
The long wilderness years (1990s-2006)
What followed was a slow, frustrating stretch. Brolin has been unusually candid about it, describing his own work after Thrashin’ as “horrendous” and explaining that he stepped away from film acting for years. He did stage work in Rochester, New York, and kept picking up television roles, but series such as Winnetka Road and Mister Sterling were cancelled after only a few episodes. For a long time he was best known as James Brolin’s son.
The comeback: No Country for Old Men and Milk (2007-2010)
Everything changed in 2007. The Coen brothers cast him as Llewelyn Moss, the hunter who stumbles on a suitcase of drug money in No Country for Old Men. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture, and Brolin, nearly 40, was suddenly in demand. The same year he appeared in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster.
The momentum held. In 2008 he played former San Francisco supervisor Dan White opposite Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant’s Milk, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, plus awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review. That year he also played George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s W. In 2010 he reunited with the Coens for True Grit. Not every gamble paid off: he later called Jonah Hex (2010) a disappointment.
A character actor with range (2012-2017)
The following years showed how wide his range had become. He played a young Agent K in Men in Black 3 (2012), led Spike Lee’s Oldboy (2013), worked with Paul Thomas Anderson on Inherent Vice (2014), played the CIA operative Matt Graver in Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (2015) and returned to the Coens as studio fixer Eddie Mannix in Hail, Caesar! (2016).
What ties these roles together is a particular kind of screen authority. Brolin rarely plays the charming lead. He is more often the hard man, the officer, the man with a plan who may or may not be on your side, and he plays those parts with a stillness that makes the audience lean in. Directors who work with him once tend to call him back: the Coens three times, Villeneuve across the Sicario and Dune films.
Thanos, Cable and Dune (2018-2024)
Brolin then became a global blockbuster star, largely in roles that hid his face. Through motion capture he played Thanos, the villain at the center of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), two of the biggest films ever made. In 2018 he also played the time-travelling soldier Cable in Deadpool 2. One of his Infinity War co-stars was Ariana Greenblatt, who played young Gamora.
His partnership with Villeneuve continued with the role of the warrior-poet Gurney Halleck in Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024). On television he starred in Amazon’s Outer Range, and directed an episode of its second season in 2024. That same year, Brothers, co-starring Peter Dinklage, became the first release from Brolin Productions, the company he founded in 2019. He also published a memoir, From Under the Truck, in 2024.
The busy year of 2025
2025 was one of the busiest years of his career. In Zach Cregger’s horror hit Weapons, a role he took over from Pedro Pascal, he played Archer Graff, a grieving father whose son disappears along with his classmates. He then played the villain in Edgar Wright’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man, and the hard-edged Monsignor Jefferson Wicks in Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on Netflix.
Few actors have three such different films in theaters and on streaming within a few months. Taken together, they confirmed that at 57, Brolin had become something close to a guarantee of quality for directors working in genre cinema, whether horror, action or whodunit.
What’s New in 2026
Brolin’s personal life made the news in November 2026. On Saturday, November 7, he and his wife Kathryn announced on Instagram that they had renewed their vows at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, a few weeks after their 10th wedding anniversary. According to Hello! magazine, an Elvis impersonator officiated in front of a small group of family and friends. We covered the ceremony in Josh Brolin and Wife Kathryn Renew Vows in Las Vegas.
On screen, the big date is December 18, 2026, the scheduled release of Dune: Part Three. Fans should temper expectations: in August 2025 Brolin said Gurney Halleck has a smaller role in the final film, while calling the script “super good.” Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars and Brian Duffield’s Whalefall are also among his announced projects for 2026.
Personal Life
Brolin has been married three times. His first marriage, to actress Alice Adair, lasted from 1988 to 1994 and produced two children, Trevor and Eden, both now adults. Before his second marriage he was briefly engaged to actress Minnie Driver. He was married to actress Diane Lane from 2004 to 2013.
On September 24, 2016, he married Kathryn Boyd in North Carolina. She had previously worked as his assistant. The couple have two young daughters, and Kathryn has described the family as “four kids between us.” Brolin has also spoken openly about his sobriety: he has not drunk alcohol since 2013. When he does share family milestones, it is usually on his own terms, as with the Instagram post announcing the Las Vegas vow renewal.
Net Worth
Josh Brolin’s net worth is not publicly disclosed, and no official figure has been confirmed by Brolin or his representatives. Estimates circulate online, but none comes from a verifiable source. What is clear is that his income rests on four decades of acting, leading roles in franchises like the Avengers and Dune films, and his work as a producer through Brolin Productions.
FAQ
How old is Josh Brolin?
Josh Brolin was born on February 12, 1968, so he is 58 years old as of November 2026.
Who are Josh Brolin’s parents?
His father is actor James Brolin and his mother is Jane Cameron Agee. Barbra Streisand is his stepmother.
Who is Josh Brolin’s wife?
He has been married to Kathryn Boyd Brolin since 2016. The couple renewed their vows in Las Vegas in November 2026.
How many children does Josh Brolin have?
He has four children: two adult children from his first marriage and two young daughters with Kathryn.
Did Josh Brolin win an Oscar?
No, but he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing Dan White in Milk (2008).
Is Josh Brolin in Dune: Part Three?
Brolin has said Gurney Halleck has a smaller role in the final chapter, which is scheduled for December 18, 2026.
Sources
- Wikipedia, “Josh Brolin”
- /Film, “Knives Out 3 Makes It Clear: 2025 Is The Year Of Josh Brolin”
- Film-News.co.uk, August 11, 2025
- GamesRadar+, Dune: Part Three release date
- Hello! magazine and Instagram, via biographiestart.com news, November 2026