A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film The Goonies (1985).

After years of decline, Brolin had a resurgence with his starring role in the crime film No Country for Old Men (2007).

Brolin received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dan White in the biopic Milk (2008).

Brolin's career progressed with roles in W. (2008), True Grit (2010), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Men in Black 3 (2012), Oldboy (2013), Inherent Vice (2014), Everest (2015), and Hail, Caesar!

[6][7] Brolin was raised on a ranch[8] in the Adelaida area of Paso Robles,[9] attending elementary and middle school in Templeton, California.

[19] For several years, Brolin appeared in stage roles in Rochester, New York, often alongside mentor and friend Anthony Zerbe.

One of Brolin's more prominent roles early in his career was that of "Wild Bill" Hickok in the ABC western TV series The Young Riders, which lasted three seasons (1989–92).

[15][full citation needed] Two other TV series Brolin was involved in include the Aaron Spelling production Winnetka Road (1994) and Mister Sterling (2003), both of which were cancelled after a few episodes.

By 2006, Brolin was trading stocks full time when he booked the lead role in the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning film No Country for Old Men (2007).

Although classically handsome, I think he would consider himself a character actor first and foremost, and it was in this context that I thought of him as W. Josh certainly has star appeal and could be a leading man, but I don't think he necessarily wants to be that.

I think he really enjoys disappearing into a character.Brolin received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Gus Van Sant's biopic Milk as city supervisor Dan White, who assassinated San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

[23] He made news by wearing a White Knot to the Academy Awards ceremony to demonstrate solidarity with the same-sex marriage movement.

[24] Brolin told an interviewer that co-star Sean Penn, who portrayed Milk, decided to dispel any nerves the actors had about playing gay men by "grabbing the bull by the horns".

At the first cast dinner, which included castmates James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna, "[Penn] walked right up and grabbed me and planted a huge one right on my lips", Brolin said.

[22] Brolin has received critical acclaim for his performance and, in addition to his Oscar nomination, received NYFCC and NBR Awards for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

[25] In 2009, Brolin executive produced and performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

"[20] Brolin also appeared in the Coen Brother film True Grit (2010) and in Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010).

[32] Brolin later starred in the 2013 film Gangster Squad, portraying a fictional World War II veteran named John O'Mara.

[33] Later that year, Brolin also portrayed Joe Doucett in Oldboy, a remake of the 2003 South Korean film of the same name.

"[35] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Todd McCarthy similarly said, "Brolin's calm, considered reading of the character bestows this conquering beast with an unexpectedly resonant emotional dimension, making him much more than a thick stick figure of a supervillain.

"[36] In April 2017, Brolin signed a four-film contract with 20th Century Fox studios to portray the Marvel Comics character Nathan Summers / Cable in the X-Men film series.

[41] In April 2022, Brolin starred as Royal Abbot in the Amazon Prime Video series Outer Range.

[45] On June 3, 2024, it was announced that Brolin had joined the cast of Rian Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.