Josh Brolin Shows Off His Range by Interviewing Himself After Jeremy Renner No-Show
Variety’s Actors on Actors Season 16 took a surprising turn in episode 4 when guest Jeremy Renner couldn’t make the show. Rather than forgo the interview, Josh Brolin opted to fly solo. The series has hosted dozens of A-listers this season and hundreds of Hollywood heavyweights over the years. But Brolin’s self-interview was a first.
Josh Brolin’s ‘Actors on Actors’ interview
In a parody of celebrity interviews, a hat-wearing Josh Brolin hilariously lobs platitudes at his hat-free alter-ego.
“OK, I’m nervous,” the hatted Brolin begins the Variety self-interview. “I’ve always been a big fan … Sorry, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said to his hatless self. “It’s just that when you respect somebody as much as I respect you … Do you mind if I look at you in the eye, or do you want me to look down?”
Throughout the 15-minute interview, it quickly becomes apparent that Hatted Josh Brolin is far humbler than Hatless Josh Brolin, who patronizes his interview partner, pads his own ego, talks incessantly about his own work, and even admits he’s jealous of the attention his young children receive.
“When somebody says, ‘Hey, man, I love your work,’ it makes it all worth it for me,” Hatless Brolin boasts. “But right now, there’s been a lot of, like, ‘Oh, my God, what a cute little kid.’ And I’m like, ‘Hello?'”
By the end of the interview, Hatted Brolin braves talking about his work, only to have Hatless Brolin fall asleep in his chair. When he wakes, Hatless Brolin makes like his Marvel villain Thanos and snaps Hatted Brolin to end the episode.
Though Brolin plays the interview straightfaced, the tongue-in-cheek take on celebrities talking about themselves is a riotous affair.
In response to the self-interview, Brolin’s Avengers: Endgame co-star Jeremy Renner took to his Instagram Stories. The no-show explained he had gotten stuck in a snowstorm and “let my good man down,” but the Hawkeye actor noted Brolin “crushed it as he always does” (per Independent).
Josh Brolin in ‘Outer Range’
Brolin’s most recent project sees him star in the Amazon series Outer Range. His hatless self discussed the project in the Actors on Actors interview, saying he was happy to return to Westerns after starring in several earlier in his career (including No Country for Old Men and True Grit). However, Outer Range is a compelling mix of traditional Western and sci-fi.
Brolin plays Royal Abbott, a rancher who discovers an enormous hole in his land with mysterious powers. The actor leads a cast including Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Ozark’s Tom Pelphrey, and Top Gun: Maverick’s Lewis Pullman.
Other notable ‘Actors on Actors’ Season 16 interviews
As is the case with each season of the Variety series (which is available via PBS), Josh Brolin and Jeremy Renner were just two of the boldface celebrities slated to appear. Each episode features two actors — some who know or have worked with each other — like Brolin and Renner — and others who have never met.
This season of Actors on Actors has also seen The Amazing Spider-Man‘s Andrew Garfield and Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s Zendaya, We Crashed‘s Anne Hathaway and Succession’s Jeremy Strong, and Yellowjackets‘ Christina Ricci and Euphoria‘s Sydney Sweeney, to name only a few pairings.
However, Brolin is the only guest to have interviewed himself.
