Josh Brolin recalls ‘horrible’ time dad James forced him to eat his childhood pet pig: ‘What a f–king d–k’
So, not the family pet after all.
Josh Brolin is recalling a “horrible” childhood story involving his father, James Brolin.
The “Dune” actor, 56, appeared on Graham Bensinger’s “In Depth” podcast and remembered the time James, 84, made him eat his childhood pet pig for dinner.
“Did he tell you the pig story? What a f–king d–k,” Josh told Bensinger, 38, after learning his famous father told the podcast host his own version of the story.
“So this story of me raising pigs, this is a horrible story,” Josh explained. “Oink and Snort, those were their names. I helped raise these pigs, and then we’re eating dinner one night — it’s amazing to me that he would tell you that story. It makes him look so bad.”
“He said, ‘Guess what you’re eating.’ I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Either Oink or Snort.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He went, ‘Yeah, that’s what we’re eating. That’s who we slaughtered,’” Josh said. “I was like, ‘Why would you tell a kid that?’ It makes no sense. Why would you tell your kid that, with any semblance of, like, celebration? Or was he just looking to have an impact?”
“I think he was looking to have an impact,” Josh added about his dad, before explaining why.
“When you feel like you don’t have an impact, that’s when you start to look for any impact, whether it’s a negative impact or not,” the “Avengers: Endgame” star said. “I think I can break it down to it being that, because I can’t imagine saying that to my kid. It’s nowhere in my universe to say that to a kid. Why would you?”
Josh confirmed that he and James have spoken about the pig story since it happened.
“My dad’s an interesting guy — not to reveal too much — in that he’s super friendly, but there’s a stop sign,” Josh explained, adding how he’s different than the “Catch Me If You Can” actor.
“I find myself to be a fairly open book,” he said. “My life, my kids, whatever. And not regurgitating a bunch of shit that they don’t need to hear. But open and honest with my life.”
Josh is the son of James and casting director and wildlife activist Jane Cameron Agee.
Jane was married to James from 1966 to 1984. She died in a car crash in February 1995 at age 55.
Since 1998, James has been married to Barbra Streisand.
James, who has two other children, son Jess, 52, and daughter Molly, 37, spoke about fatherhood in a 2009 interview with the Guardian.
“As a father, I was fair to everyone, but when you’re away a lot, it’s hard to regard yourself as a great father,” he said.
“My son [Josh] is the best father I’ve ever known — I’ve learned lessons from him, but it’s too late for me.”
Josh has four children. He shares Trevor, 36, and Eden, 30, with his ex-wife Alice Adair, and daughters Westlyn, 6, and Chapel, 3, with his wife Kathryn Boyd. He was previously married to Diane Lane from 2004 to 2013.