Josh Brolin has more geek film experience than almost any other actor in Hollywood. Not only does he have major comic book characters on his resume, including Cable and Thanos, but he also has movies like Dune and Men In Black 3 on his resume. Obviously, the man is no stranger to culture. . . and yet he still finds it difficult when he goes to conventions and is asked unanswered questions.
Earlier this month, Brolin was a guest on The Graham Norton Show, included in a panel including Cher, Michael Fassbender and Kiera Knightly, and there was a point during the episode where he and Fassbender began talking about attending comic conventions (the latter, of course, well-known for playing Magneto in the X-Men movies). While Brolin may be an intimidating presence on screen playing villains like Thanos and tough guys like Gurney Halleck, he has no idea what to do when he is presented with questions from passionate fans:
Have you ever been to a Comic-Con? It’s difficult. They are fanatics. They’re genuine fans, which is great. But then the fan will come and say in all seriousness, “Have you ever learned? I’m sorry to bother you, but have you ever learned that if you had the strength to kill part of the universe, you also had the strength to create?” Double the resources? » Super smart! And then you say, “Next!
To be fair to Josh Brolin here: he doesn’t write the material; he just plays it in front of the camera. In fact, this specific challenge to fans can’t even be redirected to Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, as they were simply adapting the Thanos story from the comics written by Jim Starlin earlier. from the 1990s (although in this case Thanos was partly motivated to kill part of the universe due to his love for the personification of Death).
The story reminds me of Ben Affleck’s famous comments to director Michael Bay on the set of the science fiction film Armageddon. The actor (who in a few years would have the name “Oscar-winning screenwriter” on his resume) wondered aloud if it wouldn’t be less difficult to teach astronauts to drill than it is to teach astronauts to drill for oil. In Affleck’s words, Bay told him to “shut his mouth. “
Taken at face value, I suppose Thanos’ decision to wipe out half of life in the universe instead of doubling the number of resources is more a reflection of the character’s personality and line of thinking about the way that life works. Because life will always continue to grow and expand across the cosmos, both moves are temporary fixes anyway, so it says something about the Mad Titan’s mindset that he thinks mass death is the superior option. I’d say that this idea could make for an interesting episode of What If…?, but that show is coming to an end after Season 3, with new adventures currently premiering daily for those with a Disney+ subscription.
There’s another takeaway one can get from this story too: if you see Josh Brolin at a convention, maybe don’t make his day more stressful by asking questions that you’re only asking to make yourself feel smart. Just let him know that his work is appreciated and move on!
Eric Eisenberg is an associate editor for CinemaBlend. After graduating from Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he accepted a part-time job as editor of CinemaBlend, and after six months, he was presented with the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created editor position on the West Coast. More than a decade later, she continues to advance her interests and skills. In addition to conducting interviews with filmmakers and contributing to the site’s news and feature film content, Eric also oversees the movie reviews section, writes the weekend’s box office report (published on Sundays), and is the resident expert for Stephen King’s site. It has two columns related to the king.
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