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16-Year-Old Josh Brolin Tried to Make His ‘Goonies’ Character Super Deep; Then Steven Spielberg Told Him: ‘Just Act. Just Say What’s on the Page’

Josh Brolin tried to make his "The Goonies" character super deep, but Steven Spielberg told him to just say what's on the page instead.

Josh Brolin was 16 years old when he landed a role in “ The Goonies.” He played Brandon “Brand” Walsh, a high-school jock and the older brother of Sean Astin’s Mikey. Speaking to People magazine ahead of the release of his memoir, “From Under the Truck,” Brolin remembered Steven Spielberg shutting down his super-intellectual approach for the teenage character. “I think [my character] Brandon is freaking out, and the tunnels represent the inside of his mother’s womb, and he’s trying to cut that umbilical cord,” Brolin remembered pitching to Spielberg, who promptly disregarded such a take.

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