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Josh Brolin says he became a full-time stock trader after Hollywood stopped calling

Josh Brolin reveals he spent nearly five years as a full-time stock trader, making more money day trading than in 20 years of acting in Hollywood.

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Josh Brolin said he wasn’t taken seriously as an actor until 2007’s Oscar-winning "No Country for Old Men" — and in the years before landing the movie, he had a short career as a full-time stock trader. The 58-year-old son of actor James Brolin told Theo Von on his "This Past Weekend" podcast that despite early success on "The Goonies," his career in Hollywood was going nowhere. Before he was cast as Brand in "The Goonies," he said he went to "350 auditions," and people told him, "It's not for you." 'LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE' STAR SAYS CHILD ACTORS GET 'DROPPED' AFTER HOLLYWOOD FAME FADES He said the '80s classic was his first time ever in front of a camera, admitting, "I ruined the first day of shooting 'cause I couldn’t stop laughing" because he was so nervous. Steven Spielberg told him to "take a breath" on the first day, because "we need to get through this." GOLDIE HAWN SOUNDS THE ALARM ON CHILDHOOD CELEBRITY CULTURE: 'ALL I CAN SAY IS IT'S A NIGHTMARE' Soon after making "The Goonies," he went to New York to study acting and do theater. He said that he "took it seriously," and he "had 22 years of taking it seriously because nobody was interested until really I did ‘No Country,’ and then ‘No Country’ kind of changed s---." Advertisement During that period, Brolin said he worked as a landscaper for a year and then became a stock trader when he was 30, "for almost five years full-time." "I was really good at it," he admitted, explaining that he worked from home using three screens, "four tabs per screen." LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS He said he did both swing trading and day trading. BRAD PITT, MARGOT ROBBIE WORKED FAST FOOD JOBS AS EVA LONGORIA SAYS ‘EVERY KID NEEDS TO' "I made more money in those four years, really … than I had made in 20 years acting. But I didn’t really make hardly anything acting." GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE "Day trading I loved, man," he added. Even after he found critical acclaim in the industry, the money wasn’t blowing him away. For "No Country for Old Men," he said he was paid $100,000, "so I cleared what, $30,000? That’s not considered a great year." PUT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST AND SEE HOW YOU SCORE But his Hollywood career began to turn around quickly after that. While filming "No Country for Old Men," Brolin said he sent in an audition tape for "American Gangster" with his 16-year-old son playing Denzel Washington’s part. "And that’s the last audition I ever did," he said. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Brolin is now starring in the thriller "Whalefall," about a diver who is swallowed by a whale. Brolin plays the main character's estranged father.

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Friday, October 16, 2026

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