Josh Brolin has starred in several movies and TV shows in the Western genre, but some rank higher than others. Since Brolin’s first movie role as Brand in 1985’s The Goonies, he’s become a household name in Hollywood. Brolin has worked with some of the most revered and recognizable directors out there, including Denis Villeneuve (Dune), Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror), Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit), and Ridley Scott (American Gangster).

The popular actor may be best known for his Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Supporting Actor in Milk or as the MCU’s biggest threat, Thanos, but he’s continuously brought his A-game to vastly different genres. His range seemingly knows no bounds, but his brilliance and ability to create memorable characters in both Western movies and television elevates his talents even more. Brolin’s most recent TV project, Prime Video’s well-reviewed Outer Range, combines the rare genre duality of sci-fi and Western, and the actor gives an excellent performance.

6

Jonah Hex (2010)

A Fun Character In A Mess Of A Movie

Playing the scarred, gunslinging, bounty-hunting DC Comics antihero, Brolin’s character in Jonah Hex is by far his most unserious role in the Western genre. Brolin acted alongside an all-star cast of Megan Fox, John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, and Michael Shannon in a film that should have been a huge hit for DC Comics’ cinematic run of the 2010s. Unfortunately, a rough script, a seemingly rushed film, and a forced PG-13 rating for a movie that definitely deserved an R ruined a cheesy but fun performance from Josh Brolin in his first superhero movie.

The critics absolutely eviscerated Jonah Hex, scoring it a dismal 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. Brolin even received a nomination at the infamous Razzie awards in 2011 for Worst Screen Couple/Worst Screen Ensemble with Megan Fox. Fox also received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress. Jonah Hex doesn’t have a lot of serious depth, cohesive storytelling, or incredible performances in it, but it does pack in the action, and for a fast-paced popcorn movie to watch with some friends, there are certainly worse films.

5

Into the West (2005)

A Memorable Miniseries With A Massive Cast

Into the West is a 2005 TNT original TV miniseries that features a massive cast of more than 250 talking roles. In the first episode, titled “Wheel to the Stars,” Josh Brolin plays Jedediah Smith, a frontiersman leading the hunting expedition the protagonist sets out to join. Though he only appears in the initial episode, Brolin helps set the tone for a series chock-full of big-name actors, including Will Patton, Tom Berenger, Lance Henriksen, Sean Astin, and more. Brolin’s gruff, no-nonsense, mountainman persona fits the story well in this anthology-style Western.

The Steven Spielberg-produced miniseries provides an incredible insight into the Old West through the eyes of two extremely different families and was an accurate look into Indigenous Americans who lived during that time. Into the West was nominated for a whopping 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning two, for Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing and Outstanding Music Composition. Unfortunately, Into the West isn’t streaming anywhere, and its limited availability slightly lessens its role in wider conversations about Brolin’s career. However, the show was released on DVD and Blu-ray for those looking to seek it out.

4

The Young Riders (1989-1992)

Josh Brolin Plays The Infamous “Wild Bill” Hickok

Some critics waved off The Young Riders as a rip-off of the popular 1988 movie Young Guns, but the ABC original Western series was successful enough to garner three seasons from 1989 to 1992, all led by a young Josh Brolin as the infamous James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok and Stephen Baldwin as William F. Cody. The then-21-year-old Brolin played the cocky, quick-tempered gunslinger for 68 episodes, and his character was known for his shoot first, ask questions later mentality that helped him stand out in the cast.

The Young Riders was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards throughout its run, winning two for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series in 1991 and Outstanding Costuming for a Series in 1990. The reception among critics was somewhat mixed at the time, as some praised the show’s fantastic cinematography, while others balked at the inauthenticity of the time period.

The series had just enough success to help springboard Brolin’s career and help him begin to receive major protagonist roles in movies over the next few years. Considering his substantial work in the Western genre since it’s neat to look back on the project that started it all.

3

True Grit (2010)

Josh Brolin Has A Memorable Villain Role

The Coen brothers’ 2010 remake of John Wayne’s classic 1969 film True Grit is considered one of the best Western remakes of all time. The incredible cast, led by Jeff Bridges as the iconic Rooster Cogburn (Wayne’s role in the original film), included a young Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Domhnall Gleeson, and Brolin in one of the most villainous roles of his career, Tom Chaney. Brolin’s character is the main antagonist of the film and a particularly nasty outlaw.

Though Chaney is on the wrong side of the law, there are some moments in the film that appeal to his less violent side. He has a few one-on-one conversations, especially with Steinfeld’s character Mattie Ross, that opens his character up to being somewhat sympathetic and adds substantial depth. Brolin’s performance in this role is astounding, which is especially impressive given that he’s gone on record about his hesitancy in playing the villain. Asked about his character of Chaney, Brolin told Parade:

“Actually, I’m getting a little uncomfortable with the bad-guy thing. But my True Grit character is a different kind of bad guy. He has a soft side.”

Though True Grit came home empty-handed at the 2011 Academy Awards, it was nominated for an impressive 10 awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director. The film remains the Coen brothers’ highest-ranked movie on Rotten Tomatoes with a 95% critics’ score. It’s also ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing Western of all time, as it made more than six times its budget and brought in over $252 million worldwide.

2

Outer Range (2022-Present)

Brolin Plays The Morally Gray Abbott Family Patriarch

Brolin’s most recent Western project is Outer Range, which just finished season 2. Brolin plays Royal Abbott, the patriarch of a ranch family in rural Wyoming that is under financial hardship. Royal must simultaneously defend his land from greedy neighbors and his sons from the law. Brolin does such an incredible job playing morally gray characters, and Royal is no exception. There are layers of depth and mystery to his character that unravel with each episode and help take the show to new levels.

Outer Range hasn’t broken any streaming records or won any awards, but it is an extremely solid show, which showcases Brolin’s underused talents as a lead actor. His gruff, seasoned persona goes a long way in keeping the audience hooked, and it’s paid off with critics, too, holding a rock-solid 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.1/10 on IMDb. The neo-Western offers beautiful environmental cinematography of the American West, and the story finds a great, rare balance of the Western and sci-fi genres, something that isn’t done easily or often.

The show has a lot of twists and turns to it, with some even comparing Outer Range to a trippy retelling of Back to the Future. The episodes can be a bit confusing and feel convoluted as they are released, but by the end of season 1, the story works itself out nicely, and there was a solid transition between the first two seasons. Brolin shines through a great cast of both veteran actors, like Emmy-nominated Lili Taylor and Will Patton, and younger, impressive talents, like Imogen Poots and Schitt’s Creek‘s Noah Reed. Brolin’s chemistry weaves through both sets seamlessly.

1

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Josh Brolin’s Performance As Llewelyn Moss Is One Of His Best

Josh Brolin’s best Western movie comes from the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men. In the most modern-style Western of his career, Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss, a man who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and tries to capitalize on it. His showdown with hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is epic, as Moss proves to be a lot smarter than he looks or talks, staying one step ahead of the psychopathic Chigurh for the majority of the film. Unfortunately, it’s the consequences of his reckless actions that make Moss meet his early demise.

Bardem’s portrayal of Chigurh is terrifying, and even Brolin, who played the MCU’s biggest and most destructive villain, doesn’t come close to Bardem’s chilling aura. His memorable performance even landed him as #8 on Empire‘s Best Movie Villains of All Time list. Moss’ erratic impulsiveness plays perfect dissonance with Chigurh’s cold, collected planning, setting up a perfect cat-and-mouse story in No Country for Old Men. Brolin not being Oscar-nominated for his role as Moss may be the biggest snub of his acting career.

Again, Brolin excels at playing a morally gray character, doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, but maybe giving his self-interest a little more weight than his self-awareness. Brolin‘s chemistry with other A-list actors like Bardem, Woody Harrelson, and Tommy Lee Jones shows he can work among the best. Many critics consider No Country for Old Men the Coens’ best movie. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning four, for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Bardem), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, the second-best score of the Coens’ careers.

Source: Parade, Empire