My man.
Actor Josh Brolin claims he nearly got into a fight with Oscar winner Denzel Washington on the set of “American Gangster.”
The “No Country For Old Men” actor, 56, shared the details of their near encounter during an appearance on the “In Depth with Graham Bansinger” podcast this week while promoting his upcoming memoir “From Under the Truck.”
The disagreement started on the 2007 movie set when Brolin messed up a line in a scene with the “Training Day” actor, 69.
“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,” Brolin said on the show. “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.”
At the time of filming, Washington already had won two Oscars along with numerous other awards and accolades. Brolin’s name didn’t start circling the major award shows until 2008 when the actor was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for the Coen brothers classic “No Country” and then received an Oscar nomination for “Milk.”
“I forgot a line. 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 f—ing put your hand on me.’ And I was like, ‘Holy s—, I’m gonna scrap with Denzel Washington. This is crazy.’ We’re not actors anymore … at least in my mind,” Brolin recalled.
Brolin said Washington probably thought that he was “just doing his job” and was potentially in character portraying Frank Lucas because the tensions never escalated.
Shortly after the uneasy moment, Brolin circled back to make sure they were cool and asked “Are you okay?”
Washington reportedly responded with “yeah. You?” and didn’t seem to want to escalate or even want to chat about what just happened.
I asked, “‘Yeah. Can I get my line?’ He said, ‘Go for it.’ It’s like he’d said what he needed to say,” Brolin stated.
Nearly a year after the encounter, they appeared at the same event and Washington was in good spirits while chatting with Brolin.
“Denzel and I, by the way, get along very well now,” Brolin added.
The California-native has starred as Thanos in Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” as well as “Flag Day” and “Dune: Part Two.” He is the son of “The Amityville Horror” actor James Brolin. He landed in the spotlight with his first major screen role as Brand, the older brother, in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film “The Goonies.”
The actor’s new book, “From Under the Truck,” details his fame, family life and struggles with addiction.