James Brolin

The Man Who Almost Became James Bond

James Brolin never needed to be the most brilliant actor of his generation to stay on top for six decades. His square jaw and baritone voice were enough to make him the face of security on American television. Before turning thirty, he had already swapped his original surname, Bruderlin, for a shorter, more direct one.

In 1969, he joined the series Marcus Welby, M.D., and that move defined his industry standing. He played Dr. Steven Kiley, the young, rational counterpart to a veteran doctor. For this role he won an Emmy Award in 1970 and became the leading man every network wanted to sign.

But the movies had a place for him in science fiction and suspense. In 1973, he starred in Westworld, playing a tourist at a robotic theme park who meets a tragic end. The film was a massive box office hit and proved that his looks worked well beyond hospital dramas.

In 1983, he came close to inheriting James Bond's tuxedo. Roger Moore was undecided about staying on, and producer Albert Broccoli arranged screen tests for Octopussy. Brolin even moved to London to prepare for the role and began looking for a home in England.

That could have changed the history of spy movies.

At the last minute, Moore decided to renew his contract, and producers passed on Brolin so they wouldn't risk an American actor in the role. So he returned to the United States to star in Hotel, a series that stayed on the air between 1983 and 1988.

The Weight of Famous Names and Haunted Mansions

Brolin's career is full of projects that rely on his imposing physical presence. In 1979, he led the cast of The Amityville Horror, a horror film that grossed more than 80 million dollars at the time. He played a family man who loses his sanity in a haunted house, a much darker role than usual for him.

And the gamble paid off.

Despite his individual success, his name is often linked to two gigantic figures in popular culture. He is the father of Josh Brolin, whom he had with his first wife, Jane Cameron Agee, and the husband of Barbra Streisand. They married in July 1998 after meeting at a dinner where she teased him about his haircut.

He isn't an actor who chases praise from specialized critics or roles that demand extreme physical transformation. He prefers technical effectiveness. In 2000, he appeared in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, and in 2002 he had a supporting role in Catch Me If You Can under the direction of Steven Spielberg.

The industry never forgot him.

In recent years he has found a stable home in voice work and narration. Between 2021 and 2024, he voiced the chapters of the Netflix series Sweet Tooth. He also took part in 2022 in the animated film Lightyear, lending his voice to the character Zurg.

In 2024, he finished his run as narrator of the series Sweet Tooth after three seasons of production.