Josh Brolin Recalls Steven Spielberg’s “Just Act” Comment While Filming The Goonies

Summary

• Josh Brolin recalls Steven Spielberg advising him to focus on the moment and not overcomplicate things while filming
  The Goonies
  .
• The Goonies
  launched the careers of several stars like Sean Astin and Corey Feldman, becoming a beloved adventure movie.
• Brolin has seen much success over the years and will next be seen in
  Dune: Part 2
  .

Josh Brolin looks back on his time filming The Goonies, revealing a key piece of advice he received from acclaimed director Steven Spielberg. Spielberg developed the story for Richard Donner’s 1985 adventure movie, which saw Brolin portray one of the titular kids who set out in search of a long-lost shipwreck filled with treasure. Following his breakout role in The Goonies, Brolin has earned acclaim for a variety of features, including Milk, No Country For Old Men, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and Dune.

With Brolin set to return as Gurney Halleck in Dune: Part 2, the actor opened up about one of his earliest roles when breaking down his entire career in GQ‘s latest video.

Brolin explained that while he had begun to look deeper into the potential symbolism behind a moment in The Goonies, Spielberg asked him to “just act” and focus on portraying what was in the moment, hoping it could encourage him to give his best performance. Check out Brolin’s full explanation below:

It was a really innocent and a really fun time, and I thought that’s how movies were done and they weren’t. I remember coming up to Spielberg at some point, ’cause I was reading Stanislavsky, and even though he didn’t direct it, he was there pretty much every day and I said, “Hey, like, don’t you think these tunnels are like my mother’s womb, and that, like, that I’m scratching to get out of the womb, and that I need to be born again?” But it’s a different-whatever I said.

And he looked at me, and he goes, “Just act.” And I was like, “I know, but-” And he wasn’t being rude, he was just like, “Don’t overcomplicate it. Just get in there, look around, listen to people, and just do your deal.”

The Goonies Introduced The World To Many Future Stars

Brolin isn’t the only member of the Goonies cast to become a celebrated star in the 39 years since its release. Sean Astin became the heart of Stranger Things and The Lord of the Rings with his roles as Bob Newby and Samwise Gamgee, respectively, and he has also voiced comic-book icons Shazam and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles‘ Raphael across various projects. Meanwhile, Corey Feldman would impress audiences through Stand by Me and The Lost Boys in the years following the release of The Goonies.

Meanwhile, 2022 saw Ke Huy Quan, who portrayed the technology-savvy Data in The Goonies, receive widespread recognition for his portrayal of Waymond Wang in the Academy Award-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once. He had taken a nineteen-year hiatus after a handful of roles in the ’90s, with Crazy Rich Asians‘ 2018 success inspiring him to return to acting. With Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s success and recent roles in Loki and Kung Fu Panda 4, Quan has made a successful return to Hollywood.

The Goonies is a beloved movie that holds a fond place in the hearts of many viewers and also helped launch the careers of many stars. As such, Brolin’s recollection is a fascinating insight into how he learned to approach his craft with the help of Spielberg. Despite portraying intergalactic tyrants, western gunslingers, and CIA operatives, Brolin’s role of high-schooler Brandon Walsh remains a firm favorite to this day.

The Goonies
is available to stream through AMC+.

Source: GQ