Hollywood star Josh Brolin is known for his incredible work on screen. Popular for portraying Marvel characters like Thanos in the MCU and Cable in Deadpool, along with his iconic performance in the 2007 film No Country for Old Men, he has become one of the most highly acclaimed actors in Hollywood. One of his best movies also includes the 2008 biographical drama, W., following the 43rd US president George W. Bush.
He collaborated with the controversial director Oliver Stone for the movie. The actor has shared that while preparing for his role in the film, he started getting “obsessed” with the former US president.
Josh Brolin’s Consuming Commitment to His Role
Josh Brolin starred as the former US president George W. Bush in the 2008 biographical drama, W. However, the actor has shared that he initially denied the offer for the movie due to his own political convictions, but eventually accepted it after he read the script.
He shared that portraying a character from the age of 21 to 58 would have been a challenge for an actor and he believed that he could do it. However, he got so embroiled in preparing for his role as George W. Bush that it soon turned into an obsession.
He had to learn everything about the former president from his tricks to mannerisms to complete the movie in time, which was reportedly hurried into a theatrical release just before the US presidential election. Brolin shared that he was “covered in spots” due to the stress of getting everything right.
Even his wife got mad at him and told him to stop. “[She said]: ‘You have to stop. It looks weird, and it’s not normal.’ I was obsessed,” he shared, as per The Guardian. However, Brolin was not the first actor to be approached for the role, as the filmmaker Oliver Stone shared that he initially offered the film to Christian Bale.
Josh Brolin Wanted to Give His Best in the Biopic
Christian Bale reportedly spent months researching to portray George W. Bush in the 2008 film. However, he dropped out of the film after learning that he might need to wear prostheses to portray the character. Josh Brolin, on the other hand, convinced Oliver Stone not to use prosthetics to make him look like the former president.
“My intention was to act like him as opposed to looking like him,” he said in an interview with the Toronto Star. The actor also explained that he did his best to portray his character on the screen. He shared that he read several books and watched a lot of videos of the former US president on repeat. “I really focused on this role, and it was hard to let it go,” he said in the interview.
W. is available on Prime Video.
Source: The Guardian
