He couldn't help but be surprised by his co-star's level of detail and commitment to his role.
Will Smith returned to the big screen in 2012 for the enduring “Men in Black” franchise, and Josh Brolin joined them as a new character. When his co-star’s actions were revealed behind the scenes, Brolin was pleasantly delighted.
In the third “Men in Black” film, Brolin played a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’s character, but his path to landing the part was anything from easy. The actor once recalled a wonderful experience he had at a pub one night with “Men in Black” director Barry Sonnenfeld and the Coen brothers.
Brolin performed a Tommy Lee Jones impersonation while they were together. Sonnenfeld recalled Brolin’s impression when casting for a younger Agent K was being done years later and invited him to join the “Men in Black” series.
Recounting the experience, Brolin shared to the Independent, “Barry was like, ‘Hey, Brolin! You want to be in Men In Black? It’s fun.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I love Men In Black. But as what? Like, Agent Q or Agent Whatever?’ And Barry said, ‘No, to play young Tommy! Remember, you did that impression for me?’”
Brolin, however, understood that playing Jones for the movie would be a very different task from the amusing exchanges made at the bar. He acknowledged the stark contrast, stating, “There’s one thing about being out at a bar with Barry and doing stupid impressions of Tommy Lee Jones with the Coens, and then there’s another thing where somebody’s telling you to do a movie that’s going to be screening all over the planet.”
As he transitioned into the “Men in Black” sequel, Brolin found comfort in his connection with Will Smith. Given his extensive experience in the field, Brolin understood the value of on-screen chemistry since it is one element of a performance that cannot be faked. Reflecting on this, he shared an anecdote with LRM Online. “You can act it.”
“I remember acting with an actor I didn’t like so much. He said ‘I feel like you don’t like me,’ and I said, ‘I don’t have to like you; I can act it!’ Which wasn’t a nice thing to say, but the truth of the matter was I hadn’t met Will before I said yes to this.”
The on-screen relationship between Brolin and Smith worked well with viewers, fortunately. However, the actions of Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld on set caught Brolin off guard. Describing his experience, he said, “It’s sort of the first time you meet Will, he’s like ‘Heeey!’ And you’re like wow, you’re serious? We’re waiting for rehearsal; try this voice and talk about it, whatever.”
“He’s like ‘M.I.B.!’ But at the same time, it’s just funny. It’s like going to an insane asylum,” he added. “Will doing that, and then you have Barry going, ‘Oh my God, this is so great!’ and he’s telling stories about his mother calling him when he’s at Madison Square Garden when he’s 16. I’m like, these people are crazy, I thought I was crazy, but these people are nuts.”
Getting Tommy Lee Jones’ gestures and cadences right proved to be a difficult assignment for Brolin, adding to the strain he already felt. He invested time in practicing his part, looking for ways to embody Jones’ Agent K. At one point, the actor momentarily questioned if he could do both Jones and the character justice.
Recalling his moments of uncertainty, Brolin shared, “I went down to Mexico, got totally frustrated, wanted to quit and wanted to call Sony and say ‘You’re going to waste your money doing this’ and all of the actor stuff that people go through. Then you start to go, ‘Oh my God, that’s one thing that sounds good.’”
Brolin emphasized that the most challenging aspect of emulating Jones was his unique speech patterns. Explaining further, he remarked, “I think the tough thing about Tommy is that there’s no like — with [George Bush], the U’s will be alike, or the vowels will be alike. Tommy’s all over.”
“It’s like he’s improvising his voice, and it’s still cultivating into something we won’t know until later. So it’s like an instrument that’s been played by nobody that somebody says not only can you learn how to play this but make an album in two months that everybody will hear.”
Brolin overcame his initial reluctance by working hard and putting out the effort necessary to portray a younger Tommy Lee Jones in the “Men in Black” series. The film was a notable addition to the adored series thanks to his connection with Smith and the difficulties he encountered when trying to imitate Jones’ speaking patterns.