Josh Brolin recalled a “horrible” time growing up when his dad, James Brolin, slaughtered his pet pig and forced their family to eat it.
During the actor’s recent appearance on Graham Bensinger’s “In Depth” podcast, the journalist brought up a story James had previously told him about how he and his son had eaten “some of the best ribs” they’ve ever had.
“Did he tell you the pig story?! What a f–king d–k! God, man,” the “No Country For Old Men” star expressed in surprise.
He then dived into “the horrible story” of him raising two pigs called Oink and Snort.
“I helped raise these pigs and we’re eating dinner one night and my dad — it’s amazing to me that he would tell you this story, it makes him look so bad — but he said, ‘Guess what you’re eating? […] Either Oink or Snort.’”
When a much younger Josh questioned him, his dad said, “Yeah, that’s what we’re eating. That’s who we slaughtered.”
Josh, now 56, wondered why a parent would ever say something like that to their kids “with any semblance of celebration.”
“I think he was making to look an impact,” he pointed out. “Psychologically? On camera? In front of you? I mean, I could get into it.”
“When you feel like you don’t have an impact, that’s when you start to look for any impact, whether it’s a negative impact or not,” he continued. “I think I can break it down to it being that, because I can’t imagine saying that to my kid. It’s nowhere in my universe to say that to a kid. Why would you?”
When Bensinger asked if they had ever talked about the incident, the “Deadpool” actor told him they had.
However, he went on to compare his dad to a red light, explaining, “My dad’s an interesting guy in that he’s super friendly, but there’s a stop sign. It’s like, before you get on the freeway, there’s a red light. You’re ready to go. You’re ready to get on the freeway and go 65, 75 miles an hour, and the light never turns.”
He added, “So you’re sitting there like this and you’re like, ‘It’s presented to me that I’m gonna go.’ And then the stoplight never changes — it just stays perpetually red.”
The “Amityville Horror” actor welcomed Josh with casting director Jane Cameron Agee. The two were married from 1966 to 1984 before she died in 1996.
Aside from Josh, the 84-year-old actor also shared son Jess, 52, with Agee. He also shares daughter Molly, 37, with ex Jan Smithers and has been married to Barbara Streisand since 1998.
For his part, Josh recently admitted to having a nicotine pouch in his mouth at all times — even at bedtime — to deal with his own battles.
“I have a pouch in my lip, and I’m not f–king lying, 24 hours a day,” the “Goonies” actor, who is married to Kathryn Boyd Brolin, said during an episode of Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast earlier this month. “Then I started taking them out and putting them on the bedside table.”
He told listeners that his addiction is so extreme that he will even pack a lip when he’s unconscious, saying, “I don’t even know I’m doing it, I’m asleep.”
Josh speaks more about his relationship with his dad and his struggles with addictions in his memoir, “From Under the Truck,” out now wherever you find books.
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