Last Updated on August 5, 2021
This weekend, Josh Brolin joins Kate Winslet in LABOR DAY, the new drama from JUNO and UP IN THE AIR director Jason Reitman. Let’s put Brolin up against another versatile actor with a familiar face, Jeremy Renner.
Brolin was also a contender for the lead role on “21 Jump Street”, but narrowly lost it to Johnny Depp.
Granted, Hawkeye may have spent most of the movie in the thrall of villain Loki, but THE AVENGERS remains the third-biggest movie of all time.
– faced off against invisible lunatic Kevin Bacon in HOLLOW MAN
– played cat-and-mouse with Javier Bardem’s coldblooded hitman in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
– joined up with Ryan Gosling as a 1940s cop in GANGSTER SQUAD
hammered his way to revenge in Spike Lee’s remake of OLDBOY
– battled rage-infected humans in the sequel 28 WEEKS LATER
– dismantled explosives during the Iraq War in THE HURT LOCKER
– joined Tom Cruise’s spy team in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL
– taken over for Matt Damon as a new rogue CIA operative in THE BOURNE LEGACY
– slaughtered hundreds of evil witches in HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS
(Depending on your political perspective, you could also include Brolin’s portrayal of George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s W. in this category.)
Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for AMERICAN GANGSTER and MILK
Screen Actors Guild Awards winner for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Outstanding Performance by a Cast)
Golden Globe nomination for THE TOWN
Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for THE TOWN and THE HURT LOCKER
Screen Actors Guild Awards winner for AMERICAN HUSTLE (Outstanding Performance by a Cast)
– INHERENT VICE
– EVEREST
Brolin takes over for Clive Owen as Dwight in the Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller SIN CITY sequel, and climbs the big mountain in the fact-based thriller EVEREST, but most enticing is a major role in filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling period crime tale INHERENT VICE, adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s novel.
– THE BOURNE WHATEVER
– THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
Universal wants to keep the BOURNE name alive with Renner despite the lackluster LEGACY, and KILL THE MESSENGER is a modestly budgeted ensemble crime from Michael Cuesta, a director best known for cable work (“Six Feet Under”, “Dexter”, “Homeland”). But c’mon, regardless of the size of Hawkeye’s role, is there anyone who doesn’t welcome the next AVENGERS movie with massive amounts of anticipation?
Brolin has been in the game a bit longer, but Renner has come on strong in the past few years, never missing an opportunity to jump into a major franchise. Sure, he may have gotten the shaft (pun intended) as underutilized costumed hero Hawkeye when the AVENGERS assembled, but just about any association with Marvel can be considered gold.
They each have plenty of talent, and mugs with lots of character. I like ’em both!
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