It goes without saying that there are great Josh Brolin movies, and he's become a legend in his own right. No Country For Old Men, True Grit, and Dune are just a few of the major titles under his belt. However, when he joined the all-star cast of American Gangster with Denzel Washington in 2007, he didn’t have quite the amount of clout and experience he does now. Brolin recently opened up about working on the film, and detailed one moment when he touched Washington, while he was in character. And what happened next was wild.
Josh Brolin recently was interviewed on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, during which he talked about working with Denzel Washington. It was during the chat that he recalled the crazy misunderstanding they once had that could’ve led to blows. Everyone is friends now but, while makingAmerican Gangster, Brolin was the buzzy hot shot star coming off of No Country For Old Men, and newly experiencing a career renaissance after years long professional struggles following Goonies. Brolin began his story by saying the following:
Denzel and I, by the way, get along very well now. … We almost got into a fight. It was a moment where Brian Grazer was going around with his hair standing straight up… And [Brian] was like, ‘Josh and Russell! Josh and Russell! Josh and Russell are amazing!’ I’m sure Denzel got wind of that.
This may or may not have set a tense tone for meeting and working with a legend like Washington for the first time. Even with the encouragement Brian Grazer, one of the producers of the film, the Avengers alum was nervous. That was especially true when the Oscar winner started tinkering with the scene structure in their first scene together. The whole energy resulted in Brolin flubbing a line:
And Denzel showed up, he was a little late to set, and there was a whole thing there. And then he showed me the lines… He didn’t change any of my lines, but he kind of changed the structure of it. He said, ‘I think I’m gonna put this down here, and I’m gonna put that up there.’ But he wouldn’t really look at me. And so I was trying to remember the structure, and then we rehearsed. It wasn’t that many lines, mostly mine. And I’m supposed to be super confident. It’s Denzel Washington, man. It’s, like, not easy. You’re just this actor, who they’re trying out, seeing if he’s the real thing or not. And I forgot a line.
That's not exactly the kind of impression you want to give when working with a Hollywood icon. Yet considering the circumstance, it’s definitely understandable. The situation didn’t get better when Denzel Washington responded completely in character as Frank Lucus from the movie, which was something Josh Brolin didn’t expect:
And I put my hand on his shoulder and I said, ‘What’s the line?’ and he hit my hand off and he said, ‘Don’t ever fucking put your hand on me.’ And I was like, ‘Holy shit, I’m gonna scrap with Denzel Washington. This is crazy.’ We’re not actors anymore, at least in my mind. In his mind, he was just doing his job, he was that guy. He was Frank Lucas. Period.
What a crazy awkward experience, especially considering Washington’s process wasn’t explained to Brolin. Sets are unique environments, where actors are seemingly willing for things to get a little dicey for the sake of a scene working. In American Gangster, the two actors' characters are adversaries, so this kind of response makes sense for the movie. However, it probably didn’t make much sense in the context of co-workers meeting for the first time. Thankfully, things were quickly smoothed over, as the Jonah Hex alum explained:
And then, we got through that moment. I said, ‘Are you okay?’ He said, ‘Yeah. You?’ I said, ‘Yeah. Can I get my line?’ He said, ‘Go for it.’ It’s like he’d said what he needed to say.
Josh Brolin also said that whenever he and his ex-co-star see each other now, it’s incredibly friendly, and Washington always gives him a big hug. So the “no touching” thing was seemingly just a way into the character. Brolin works differently, as his character work exists more between action and cut. These are definitely different methods, but the combative energy this created was clearly right for the scene.
Both actors are tremendous in American Gangster, and the film easily signifies one of Denzel Washington’s most iconic roles. The tone he created comes across when he and Brolin are opposite each other on screen. And, even if it created a strange moment for the performers, you can't argue with the finished film.
You can revisit Josh Brolin and Denzel Washington in one of Ridley Scott’s best movies, American Gangster, which is currently streamable with a Netflix subscription. For other interesting showbiz stories from Brolin, make sure to check out his book, From Under the Truck, which is now available to buy on Amazon.
