Josh Brolin has more nerd movie experience than almost any other actor in Hollywood. He doesn’t just have a big comic book characters on his resume, including Cable and Thanosbut he also has films like Dune And Men in black 3 on his resume. The man is clearly no stranger to the culture… and yet he still finds it a difficult experience when he goes to conferences and is asked unanswerable questions.
Earlier this month, Brolin was a guest at The Graham Norton Showincluded in a panel including Cher, Michael Fassbender and Kiera Knightly, and there was a point during the episode where he and Fassbender started talking about attending comic book conventions (the latter of course known for playing Magneto in the X Men movies). While Brolin may be an intimidating presence on screen when he plays villains like Thanos and tough guys like Gurney Halleck, he has no idea what to do when he gets questions from passionate fans:
Have you ever been to a Comic-Con? That’s difficult. They’re fans. They’re real fans, and that’s great. But then the fan will come up and say very seriously, “Have you ever realized that I’m sorry to bother you, but have you ever realized that if you had the power to kill half the universe, you probably also had the power to kill half the universe? create twice as many raw materials?’ Super smart! And then you think: ‘Next!’
To be fair to Josh Brolin, he doesn’t write the material; he just performs it for the camera. In fact, this particular fan bickering can’t even be referenced Avengers: Infinite War/Avengers: Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, because they were simply adapting the Thanos storyline from the comics written by Jim Starlin in the early 1990s (although in that case, Thanos was partially motivated to kill half the universe because of his love for the personification of Death).
The story reminds me of the Ben Affleck’s infamous comments to director Michael Bay on the set of the sci-fi blockbuster Armageddon. The actor (who within a few years would have “Academy Award-winning screenwriter” on his resume) wondered aloud whether it wouldn’t be easier to teach astronauts to drill than to teach oil drillers to become astronauts. In Affleck’s words, Bay told him to “shut up.”
At first glance, I think Thanos’ decision to wipe out half of life in the universe rather than double the number of resources is more a reflection of the character’s personality and mindset about how on which life works. Since life will always continue to grow and expand throughout the cosmos, both moves are temporary solutions anyway, so it says something about the Mad Titan’s mentality that he thinks mass death is the superior option. I’d say this idea could make for an interesting episode What if…?but that show is ending after season 3with new adventures currently premiering daily for those with Disney+ subscription.
There’s another lesson to take from this story: If you see Josh Brolin at a conference, maybe don’t make his day more stressful by asking questions you’re asking just to make yourself feel smart. Just let him know his work is appreciated and move on!
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