Academy Award Nominee, Josh Brolin, visits HI- Santa Monica

Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010
by HI - Los Angeles - Santa Monica, in Los Angeles, CA

Lauded actor, Josh Brolin, paid a visit to HI-Santa Monica on Tuesday, July 6. Mr. Brolin was a guest speaker at Robert Rusler's acting class which is held at the hostel. Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for 2008's Milk, the seasoned actor talked for over two hours, sharing stories of his films with the Coen Brother's, Sean Penn, Oliver Stone and more.

Before he spoke to the class, I had a chance to speak with Mr.Brolin one on one. I was happy to learn he is a former backpacker himself, having stayed at many hostels across Europe during his trip. He said he looks forward to his kids following suit and went on to compliment HI-Santa Monica for being one of the nicest hostels he's ever seen.

During the class, Mr. Brolin revealed he learned of his audition for the Coen Brothers Oscar winning movie, No Country For Old Men, while working on Grindhouse with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. He then asked Robert Rodriguez to shoot his audition tape. After catching wind of this, Tarantino, insisted on directing him while Rodriguez operated the camera. The audition tape eventually led Mr. Brolin to land the part of Llewelyn Moss, a part that was also sought after by Hollywood power players Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
Josh Brolin's next project is a remake of the John Wayne classic, True Grit, after which he will play a young Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black III.

Robert Rusler's Acting Class takes place at the hostel every Tuesday 3-5pm. Hostel guests are welcome to attend for free, community members interested in participating may contact Mr. Rusler at 310-936-6560.