The Hilariously Blunt Advice Steven Spielberg Gave To A Future Marvel Star

Movies Action & Adventure Movies

Rochard Donner's 1985 adventure film "The Goonies" is deeply beloved by a very particular segment of the population — namely, people who were about nine when it was released. Donner captured the messy-room, foulmouthed, chattery, casually cruel nature of real-life little kids, letting his film's elementary school-aged protagonists emerge as scrappy and unpolished. The constant insults and yammering made the pirate-treasure adventure they went on feel that much more fantastical. What if real kids went on a treasure quest in Indiana Jones-like catacombs? "The Goonies" was, for a certain generation, appealingly relatable.

It can also be overthought. Donner, screenwriter Chris Columbus, and story writer Steven Spielberg merely wanted to make a lighthearted romp with a treasure map. It was reminiscent of Hardy Boys novels and other adventure books for boys. It was never meant to serve as a treatise for a generation, and the filmmakers didn't intentionally include any kind of heady symbolism linked to the human experience. The most one might say for "The Goonies" is that it details the destruction of a small town as corporate real estate takes over, and how families are scrubbed apart by the rising tide of increased divorce rates.

Josh Brolin (an actor known for, among many other things, playing Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) appears in "The Goonies" as Brand Walsh, the annoyed older brother of protagonist Mikey (Sean Astin). Brand is seen in a tank-top and a headband, and liked to work out using handheld resistance equipment. Brolin, it seems, was careful to read Columbus' script very closely, delving into its meaning and trying to find what symbolism the filmmakers might be including. Brolin even shared his ideas with Spielberg, and the famed filmmaker had to, essentially, tell the young actor to just shut up and act.

In an interview with People Magazine, Brolin shared the advice Spielberg gave him. It was refreshingly direct.

Josh Brolin overthought the meaning of The Goonies

Brolin, perhaps trying to display his ambition as an actor, was eager to share his interpretation of "The Goonies" with Spielberg. His threories, however, were not only a little wild, but also completely irrelevant to his job. Spilberg merely said to Brolin that interpreting wasn't really in his job description. As Brolin put it:

"[I said to Spielberg] 'I think Brandon is freaking out, and the tunnels represent the inside of his mother's womb, and he's trying to cut that umbilical cord.' He looked at me, and he goes, 'Yeah, just act. Just say what's on the page.' [...] He wasn't being an a–hole, he was right."

It is possible to work too hard as an actor. After that, Brolin understood the practicalities of acting, and likely began focusing on memorizing his lines and emoting over trying to write essays about the meaning of the scripts he was assigned. Brolin's career has lasted 40 additional years since "The Goonies," so Spielberg must have said something correctly.

There are as many approaches to acting as there are actors, and many of them see the job as, well, a job. Some actors show up with their lines memorized, read them as entertainingly as the director requests, and then collect their pay and go home. Many actors don't even read the scenes they're not in, and some even avoid seeing their films when they are complete; acting in the moment is more important to them. While a certain degree of thoughtfulness and interpretation is required of any actor, ultimately, the symbolism of a film is going to be more intensely unpacked by critics and scholars. As an actor, sometimes you have to, as Spielberg noted, just act.