Brolin Gets Out ‘From Under the Truck’

It’s no hidden secret that Hollywood’s elite have a long history of escaping the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles for the secluded coastal charm offered up in Santa Barbara County. But only a small handful can claim true roots in the celebrity friendly oasis — actor, Josh Brolin is one of them. From his childhood in Paso Robles, to his rebellious teen years in Santa Barbara, the now 56-year-old whose film career began at age 16 on the 1985 set of the cult classic teens movie The Goonies has returned home permanently after a lifetime of self-reflection – beginning at the tender age of eight years old when he first started documenting his life in journals – 88 of them by today’s count.

The Academy Award nominee’s treasure trove of musings is now the basis of a 227-page memoir released by Harper Collins Publishing house this month titled: From Under the Truck. The autobiography chronicles the actor’s turbulent childhood, drug and alcohol abuse, and his numerous brushes with the law—nine of which resulted in jail time.

On a chilly Friday evening inside Godmothers Bookstore, Summerland’s chic new celebrity hotspot, Brolin sat down with fellow ‘80s’ heartthrob and long-time Montecitan Rob Lowe for a candid and honest conversation recorded for Lowe’s podcast – Literally! with Rob Lowe. 

Flanked by a small audience of guests, including Brolin’s wife Kathryn and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, it was clear to see the two handsome performers were no strangers in front of an audience, exuding a quick wit and engaging charm that frequently had the audience erupting in laughter. Sharing passages from his book, Brolin describes his path to self-destruction during his teenage years as a youth growing up in Santa Barbara. A self-described “rich kid on LSD,” he found a sense of belonging with a local band of brothers called the “Cito Rats,” a renowned group who skateboarded and surfed the beaches in Montecito in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. “Compared to everything else around us, it was the best thing going on.” Brolin’s adolescent years went beyond the prototypical teenage angst. He had rage. “Rage fueled by all the self-absorbed parents who would rather chew their respective eyes than bother themselves with children.” Brolin was introduced to drinking at age 8 by his mother. “I was birthed to drink. My mother drank exactly like I did, and I was raised to be a man and drink like the male equivalent of my mother.” Of the 50 or so “rats,” he estimates 37 are dead and 12 or so are in jail.

Brolin’s mother, Jane Agee Brolin was a wildlife activist and assistant casting director. His father is Emmy award winning actor James Brolin, now married to Barbra Streisand. Jane, he says, did the majority of the child rearing while his dad mostly stayed away, working long stints on Hollywood sets or on location. Brolin and his younger brother Jess spent their early years on a ranch in Paso Robles, surrounded by wolves, cougars, and other wild animals his mother raised. After his parents divorced, his mother moved the family to Santa Barbara, where soon Brolin met his angry adolescent counterparts. “This was the beginning of a whole new era of angry. Adolescent LSD explorers spearheaded by the beginning of the cocaine phase that none of us would be able to afford and all of us would steal, fight, and f*** rich old ladies for.”

For Brolin, acting came out of desperation after being kicked out of his house as a teenager for his reckless behavior. “I missed 36 out of 56 days of school at Santa Barbara High.”

With no acting experience under his belt, he made up a fake resume which included stage work at Santa Barbara’s “Lobero Theatre,” slept on his dad’s couch in L.A. and went on 350 auditions before landing the role of Brandon Walsh on The Goonies, produced by visionary filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, and directed by Richard Donner.

Lowe led the evening’s conversation with a confident grasp of the book’s themes, referencing the challenges of writing something so personal where family members are a large part of the storyline. He related to Brolin’s experiences with a present but misguided mother and an absent father. But Brolin said he sees his life in “vignettes,” and told the audience that he did not feel victimized in any way but acknowledged he grew up in a “chaotic vortex.” 

Lowe described the book as “impressionistic.” “I knew immediately this was going to be a special book.”

The book’s title, Under the Truck, is a reference to a boyfriend of Brolin’s mother – the gentleman having talked the teenaged Brolin into a drinking challenge at a local bar. Warned by his mother – “you don’t want to do that” – Brolin emerged victorious when the boyfriend was later found with his legs sticking out from under a truck. 

Brolin, who has struggled with alcoholism most of his life, said his final “come to Jesus” moment came 11 years ago when he showed up drunk at his 99-year old grandmother’s hospital room. That was when he had an epiphany that he had to turn his life around. 

The producer, director, and writer’s introspective life accounts are courageous and unabashed. His literary endeavor has received praise from actor Matthew McConaughey, whose poetic words grace the book’s back cover.

“Josh Brolin’s out to catch his breath between the slant-eyed suggestions and irrefutable evidence of his past. He hears voices, and he listens, reminding us with brutal honesty that our surroundings were never there to be carried, rather woven into the fabric of the freedom to be who we are.” 

The book is available at Godmothers, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.