Actor Josh Brolin recalls his failed attempt to impress Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg on the set of the 1985 classic The Goonies. Brolin, the son of Hollywood icon James Brolin, rose to fame with a co-starring role as Brand in Richard Donner’s adventure comedy The Goonies, which was produced by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. The movie was a box office success, grossing over $125 million against a budget of less than $20 million, and many of the cast of The Goonies became prominent stars after appearing in the movie, including Brolin himself, who was 16 at the time of filming.

During an interview on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast, Brolin recalls his time on set, and his failed attempt to impress Spielberg with ideas about his character, which received a blunt response from the seasoned director. Speaking about his efforts to show his producer how smart he was, Brolin details that he made a suggestion for his character that was full of metaphor and symbolism, and Spielberg responded by saying, “Why don’t you just act?” Check out Brolin’s anecdote below:

I came to Steven at some point, we were in one of the tunnels, and I said, ‘Hey, Steven, can I talk to you for a second? I said, ‘Hey, don’t you think that the tunnels kind of represent my mother’s womb? And what if we film me climbing up the tunnel, but really I’m trying to cut that emotional umbilical cord of my mother, and I could have tears coming down my face?’ I went into this whole thing, and I was getting all excited because he was nodding his head, and then I waited.

And then he looked at me and he said, ‘Why don’t you just act? Just say the words on the page, you’ll be fine. And I could have been like, ‘Dick!’ But I didn’t, I was like, ‘Oh, totally. I got it.’

What These Comments Mean For Brolin’s Approach As A Young Actor

His Enthusiasm Was Great, But Spielberg’s Experienced Head Was Right

Brolin’s comments reveal a couple of important things – they show the enthusiasm and optimism, but also naivety of young actors, who are so pᴀssionate they sometimes want to do too much. And it shows the wisdom of an experienced filmmaker like Spielberg, who understood that the magic of The Goonies lay in its simplicity and collective coming-of-age story. This exchange no doubt helped influence Brolin’s approach to future movies and allowed him to understand that sometimes less is more.

As a 16-year-old at the beginning of his career, Brolin’s confidence to approach a filmmaker as seasoned as Spielberg with an overwrought idea, showed self-belief that has no doubt contributed to his career success. But, Spielberg was right to shut down the suggestion, and focus on keeping the metaphor simple, allowing the charm and wonder of The Goonies to connect with viewers, and make it the success it became.

Our Verdict On Brolin’s Goonies Boldness

The Actor Was Likely Trying To Show He Didn’t Need His Family Name

Young actors are full of ideas but sometimes need to be tempered by more experienced heads like Spielberg. In Brolin’s case, I believe this was the young actor trying to ᴀssert himself and show that he wasn’t relying on his family name to achieve success. Had he been a more seasoned star, he may well have disregarded Spielberg’s advice, as Kevin Costner famously did during the doomed production of Waterworld. But as a young man starting out, this interaction on The Goonies would have been invaluable input from Spielberg in which sometimes it’s best to reign things in.

Source: Literally! With Rob Lowe