After the Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale refused to star as the former president George W. Bush in the 2008 film, Oliver Stone approached Josh Brolin with the role. Although he was hesitant to portray the political figure on the screen, he eventually accepted the proposal after reading the script. The actor has shared that he was a bit conflicted about why the filmmaker offered him the movie.
As he joined his fellow actors on The Hollywood Reporter Roundtables in 2013, the Oscar-nominee shared that the filmmaker constantly approached him to do the movie, to a point where he felt like he was being stalked.
Oliver Stone Stalked Josh Brolin to Accept the Offer For W.
Josh Brolin starred in Oliver Stone’s 2008 film, W., focusing on the former US president George W. Bush. The actor has shared (via The Guardian) that he felt a bit “insulted” after filmmaker Oliver Stone said that there is something “very Americana” and “bucolic” about him while making the proposal for W.
However, he eventually accepted the offer as he found the role challenging after reading the script. However, that was not the only reason. During his appearance on The Hollywood Reporter Roundtables, the Avengers: Endgame star shared that the filmmaker constantly followed him until he accepted the role.
“Like Oliver [Stone] coming to me and saying, “Do you want to do W.?” I was like, “Why the f— would I want to do that?” he recalled. After this, he saw Stone several times, such as at dinner or at the next table at a restaurant. “He was literally stalking me at some point,” Brolin said on The Hollywood Reporter Roundtables.
He also shared that he had conflicts over accepting the proposal due to the filmmaker. “In the beginning, I thought, “It’s Oliver” — it was just gonna be a big bash-fest,” he said. However, after some discussions, he decided to accept the offer and was glad that he did so.
Why Did Christian Bale Drop Out of Oliver Stone’s W.?
Before he approached Josh Brolin to portray the former US president George W. Bush in the 2008 film, Oliver Stone had Christian Bale set to star in the lead role in the biographical drama. The director cast The Dark Knight actor, as he was looking for a star to feature in his movie.
Bale was very well known for his movies like American Psycho, and The Machinist, along with his portrayal of Batman. He even spent months researching for the role in Oliver Stone’s biographical comedy-drama and learned everything from George W. Bush’s mannerisms to vocal tics.
However, after prosthetic makeup tests, he decided to leave the movie. The British actor was reportedly not satisfied with the result of prosthetic makeup. After Bale backed out from the movie, Stone met Brolin and found him suitable for his film.
Brolin, who was cast at the last minute in the movie, was stressed out while preparing for his role. Bale later went on to portray Dick Cheney in Adam McKay’s 2018 film Vice, who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. However, instead of prosthetics, Bale went through a drastic physical transformation for his role.
W. is available on Prime Video.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter Roundtables
