#690 - Josh Brolin
Episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von · October 13, 2026 · 1 h 39 min
Josh Brolin joins Theo Von to discuss sobriety, the Cito Rats, his wildlife-activist mother, decades of acting struggles, fame, and his film Whalefall.
Summary
Comedian Theo Von hosted actor Josh Brolin, and the two opened by bonding over being sober alcoholics. Brolin described the Cito Rats, the Montecito surf crew he grew up with, saying 36 of its 50 members had died from drugs and alcohol, and explained that he had taken over the name as a brand meant to be "survived and updated." He recounted his childhood on a Paso Robles ranch with his mother Jane, a hard-drinking wildlife activist who kept rescued wolves, lions and a chimpanzee named Reggie, and who used CB radio truckers to box in rude drivers. Von shared stories of his own chaotic Louisiana upbringing and of his past cocaine use.
Brolin recalled being a poor auditioner, ruining his first day on The Goonies with nervous laughter, and spending about 22 years in relative obscurity until No Country for Old Men, for which he said he was paid $100,000. He described working as a landscaper and spending roughly five years as a full-time day and swing trader, saying he earned more trading than in two decades of acting. The pair discussed Jeff Bridges and Crazy Heart, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Colbert, the growth of the UFC, and their shared high-school experiences in heavily Mexican-American schools.
Brolin praised Whalefall, adapted from Daniel Kraus's novel, saying the book's father-son relationship made him sob, and noted he had learned not to call his own past films bad. Discussing fame, Brolin said he did not want to be defined as an alcoholic, a celebrity or even an actor, while Von described treating popularity as an experiment God had him in. Von said he was working the steps again and raised self-resentment; Brolin related advice from Anthony Hopkins that alcoholics given tools can have outsized positive impact. Brolin also described being present the night Cormac McCarthy died and previewed upcoming projects, including The Fisherman and a Montauk survival story with Jeremy Renner.
Chapters
- 1:24
Two sober alcoholics
Von and Brolin bond over sobriety, and Brolin explains how Liquid Death's beer-like cans helped non-drinkers fit in.
- 3:57
The Cito Rats
Brolin describes the Montecito surf crew he grew up with, its many overdose deaths, and his relaunch of the name as a brand.
- 8:45
A wildlife-activist mother
Brolin recounts growing up with rescued wild animals, Reggie the chimpanzee, and his forceful, hard-drinking mother.
- 31:30
Louisiana childhood and arrests
Von describes his chaotic childhood home and Brolin recalls being arrested in Shreveport during the filming of W.
- 36:55
The Goonies and failed auditions
Brolin talks about his start in acting, his poor auditions, laughing through The Goonies, and Thrashin'.
- 45:52
Day trading and No Country
Brolin explains his years as a landscaper and stock trader and his modest pay for No Country for Old Men.
- 48:54
Sobriety, Jeff Bridges and Crazy Heart
Brolin recounts first getting sober at 19 and relapsing, and both discuss Jeff Bridges and Crazy Heart.
- 1:00:55
Quantum physics, Tucson and school days
Brolin describes late-life curiosity about physics, and both share memories of Tucson and their high schools.
- 1:05:22
UFC and Dana White
The pair discuss motorcycling with Dana White and the UFC's rise from a fringe spectacle.
- 1:09:25
Whalefall
Brolin discusses his new film adapted from Daniel Kraus's novel and why its father-son story moved him.
- 1:16:04
James Brolin and fame
Brolin talks about his father's fluctuating career and both reflect on how fame shapes identity.
- 1:27:43
Resentment, Hopkins and McCarthy
Von raises self-resentment in recovery; Brolin shares Anthony Hopkins's advice and memories of Cormac McCarthy.
- 1:33:34
Upcoming projects and farewell
Brolin previews The Fisherman and a Montauk survival film with Jeremy Renner, shows a tattoo, and the episode closes.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Josh Brolin
Brolin argued that Liquid Death succeeded partly because its beer-like cans let non-drinking young people avoid feeling excluded.
“the kids started drinking these cans that are full of water and it made them feel like they weren't ousted, that they weren't going to be judged”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin said that 36 of the 50 members of the Cito Rats group he grew up with had died from drugs and alcohol.
“the group that I grew up with, 36 out of 50 are dead from shit that we were just talking about”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin explained he revived the Cito Rats name as a brand representing survival rather than self-destruction.
“So I've brought the whole thing back as a like survived and updated, like new and improved”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin recounted that his mother was a wildlife activist who kept rescued wild animals in and around the family home.
“my mom was a wildlife activist. So we had wolves in our house, we had mountain lions”
- Theo Von
Von said his drinking was mainly a pretext for using cocaine.
“the only reason I wanted to drink was then I could have an excuse to go. To go do coke”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin maintained that sober life is genuinely more fun than his years of using.
“I actually think it's more fun. And I had a fucking blast when I was using”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin described Stephen Colbert, with whom he became close, as exceptionally caring.
“He is the coolest, most caring motherfucker I know”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin said a Miramax executive publicly named him and Benicio Del Toro the worst auditioners the company had seen.
“the worst auditioners we ever saw, we ever experienced in our kind of history at Miramax were Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin described spending about 22 years in relative obscurity after The Goonies.
“So I spent 22 years kind of in the ethers after the Goonies, right?”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin said he earned more in roughly four years of trading stocks than in two decades of acting.
“but within four years than I had made in 20 years acting. but I didn't really make hardly anything acting”
Linked moment · 48:54Skip to 48:54 using a listen link in the info box.
Josh BrolinBrolin recounted first getting sober at 19 after jail time, staying sober three and a half years, then deliberately relapsing.
“I did jail time, but then I stayed sober for three and a half years. Then I went back out very actively, like consciously”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin said he initially doubted MMA would work but watched it grow until it overtook boxing.
“then it got more interesting and more interesting and then it started overwhelming boxing which was crazy”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin praised Whalefall's direction and Austin Abrams's performance.
“So Whale Fall doesn't suck. Whale Fall is really good. The directing's really good. The acting, Austin Abrams is amazing”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin said the novel moved him because of its father-son relationship, in which the son ultimately depends on the harsh father's teachings.
“the father in the book is super hard on the son and the son rejects it in a major way”
- Theo Von
Von said he tries not to attach to his popularity, treating it as an experiment God has placed him in.
“And I try to just be like, okay, this is an interesting experiment that God kind of has me in. I get to see what this is like to have popularity”
- Theo Von
Von said he once avoided discussing his sobriety struggles on the podcast for fear that audience attention could feed relapse.
“there were times when I was struggling with sobriety and I didn't even want to talk about it on the podcast because”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin said he does not want fame or labels to define him, including being an alcoholic or an actor.
“I don't want to be defined as an alcoholic. I don't want to be defined as famous. I don't want to be defined even as an actor”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin related Anthony Hopkins's view that alcoholics, given tools, can have a greater positive impact than most people.
“But given a few tools, we can have a bigger impact than most people”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin said he was with Cormac McCarthy, alongside McCarthy's son and ex-wife, on the night the novelist died.
“I was with him the night he died. No way, dude. Yeah. It was me, his son, his ex-wife, and him”
- Josh Brolin
Brolin drew a parallel between his career and McCarthy's early novels, which sold poorly before he persevered.
“people had maybe bought maybe 1,200 books of each novel, so nobody bought his shit. And he kept going”
People
In the conversation
- Theo VonAmerican stand-up comedian and host of the podcast This Past Weekend
- Josh BrolinActor Colbert arm-wrestled on his show
Discussed
- Jane BrolinJosh Brolin's late mother, a wildlife activist
- James BrolinAmerican actor and Josh Brolin's father, star of Marcus Welby, M.D.
- Jeff BridgesAmerican actor, star of Crazy Heart and The Big Lebowski
- Steven SpielbergAmerican filmmaker whose upcoming film about disclosure was discussed
- Stephen ColbertAmerican comedian and host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- Neil deGrasse TysonAmerican astrophysicist cited by Colbert as an ideal talk-show guest
- Anthony HopkinsWelsh actor and composer who speaks openly about sobriety
- Cormac McCarthyAmerican novelist, author of No Country for Old Men
- Daniel KrausAmerican novelist who wrote Whalefall
- Austin AbramsAmerican actor starring in Whalefall
- Jeremy RennerAmerican actor collaborating with Brolin on a Montauk survival film
- Meryl PosterFormer Miramax executive
- Benicio Del ToroPuerto Rican actor, Brolin's Sicario co-star
- David O. RussellAmerican director of I Heart Huckabees
- Jason SearsBrolin's childhood best friend, singer of Rich Kids on LSD
- Dana WhitePresident and CEO of the UFC
- Jay AdamsDogtown skateboarder
- Carlo RovelliItalian theoretical physicist specializing in quantum gravity and author of popular science books
- Bob DylanAmerican singer-songwriter who invited Strings to play with him on tour
Topics
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From the publisher
Josh Brolin is an actor and writer. His new movie “Whalefall” is in theaters October 16th. Josh joins Theo to talk about the legacy of his old crew “the Cito Rats”, how his mom’s unique spirit impacted his life, and the times he thought he might not make it as an actor. Josh Brolin: https://www.instagram.com/joshbrolin ------------------------------------------------- Tour Dates! https://theovon.com/tour New Merch: https://www.theovonstore.com ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: Celsius: Go to the Celsius Amazon store to check out all of their flavors. #CELSIUSBrandPartner @CelsiusOfficial https://amzn.to/3HbAtPJ Moonpay: https://moonpay.onelink.me/O2ia/t34p5kxg Manscaped: Thanks to MANSCAPED® for sponsoring today’s episode! Get The Lawn Mower® Ultra Gen 6 for 15% OFF + Free Shipping with code THEO at http://Manscaped.com! Chime: Head to http://chime.com/theo and join the millions who are already banking fee free with America’s #1 Choice for Banking! Quince: Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to http://quince.com to get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns! ------------------------------------------------- Music: “Shine” by Bishop Gunn Bishop Gunn - Shine ------------------------------------------------ Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: tpwproducer@gmail.com Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503 Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload Mail stuff to: ATTN: TPW PO BOX 40137 Nashville TN 37204 ------------------------------------------------ Find Theo: Website: https://theovon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend X: https://twitter.com/theovon YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z ------------------------------------------------…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 25, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.