Josh Brolin has had a very busy summer.
Fresh off of wreaking havoc as Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War” at the end of April, the Academy Award nominated actor goes toe to toe with Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With The Mouth as Cable in “Deadpool 2” later this week.
But that almost wasn’t the case, because Josh Brolin was a very late addition to the blockbuster sequel. “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch admitted as much to me on Tuesday evening, confirming that Brolin was a last minute casting.
“Josh did come in quite late. There was a short list of people. By the way his name was on it. It was just the way that things came about. We were down the road with some people. It was sort of a turn around and it happened at the last second.”
Once Brolin made himself available for the part, Leitch and the “Deadpool 2” team jumped at the opportunity to get the “No Country For Old Men,” “Milk,” and “W.” actor involved.
“My standing orders for Cable were, I really just wanted to get a strong actor for the role that I believe could play a guy from the past that lives in the future. It was sort of this thing where I wanted to get a Clint Eastwood vibe for Cable. Josh had that in spades.”
There were specific reasons why Leitch “fought hard to get a great actor” to portray the time-traveling solider.
“We needed someone who could make a presence and make a human statement and an emotional statement with little dialogue. And to be able to give a performance and make a performance with just a look.”
You can find out for yourself whether Brolin is able to achieve just that when “Deadpool 2” is finally released on May 18.
