Josh Brolin Talks the Personal Side of ‘Whalefall’, ‘Sicario 3’

Key Points:

• Josh Brolin stars in Whalefall as Mitt Gardiner, a seafaring man who takes his own life, leaving his estranged son Jay (Austin Abrams) to confront their troubled relationship and his father's legacy, symbolized by Jay's harrowing experience trapped inside a sperm whale.
• Brolin connected deeply with the story, reflecting on his own experiences as a father and son, and noted that the film explores themes of parental expectations, rebellion, and the complexity of familial bonds, with the whale serving as a metaphor for Mitt's overwhelming influence on Jay.
• Whalefall features a unique production detail where Brolin’s recorded heartbeat was used as the whale’s heartbeat sound, enhancing the emotional and symbolic weight during Abrams’ scenes inside the whale set.
• Beyond Whalefall, Brolin is preparing for Sicario 3, with a script by Steven Knight and direction by Padraic McKinley, promising to reveal new dimensions of his CIA character Matt Graver; the project had faced delays but is now moving forward enthusiastically.
• Brolin also reflected on the cancellation of his TV series Outer Range, expressing disappointment but pride in the cast's subsequent successes, and explained his decision to decline the role in Lanterns, partly due to the emotional impact of Outer Range’s cancellation.