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 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.

“He looked at me, and he goes, ‘Yeah, just act. Just say what’s on the page,'” Brolin said. “He wasn’t being an asshole, he was right.”

Brolin went on to call his “Goonies” role “probably the greatest experience of my life,” adding: “That was the moment at 16 years old which never should have happened. I had been kicked out of my house. I went to go live on the couch of my dad, who was living with someone at the time, like, I’ve got to get my shit together. And then going through 350 or whatever auditions and people saying, ‘You should definitely find a different profession. You’re not good at this.’ And loving that challenge.”

“The Goonies” cast also included Martha Plimpton, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Kerri Green and Ke Huy Quan. The film centers on a group of kids who discover an old treasure map and set out to find the fortunes of a legendary pirate named One-Eyed Willy. A family of criminal pursues them in hopes of stealing the treasure for themselves. The movie, directed by Richard Donner and written by Chris Columbus, was based on a story by Spielberg.

The Sun claimed earlier this year that “The Goonies 2” would be filmed next summer with many of the original cast returning, but actors such as Feldman and Plimpton shut down the report.

“People, there is no ‘Goonies 2’ script, there is no one ‘attached,’” Plimpton wrote on Instagram. “Spielberg is not directing, it’s not real.”

Brolin’s memoir, “From Under the Truck,” releases Nov. 19 from Harper.