Josh Brolin On Playing W

Given that Oliver Stone was directing the film, were you worried that his George W. Bush could end up being a caricature or a joke?
At first I had the same leftist, cosmetic view that everybody has--that this guy's an idiot making the wrong decisions, that he's a puppet. But this is an amazingly compelling story about a guy who was flailing. He was a mouse in a labyrinth, just lost, looking for that cheese and not finding it. And then he became president of the United States.

How is your performance different from late-night TV?
Some of these comedians out there, they do a carbon-copy W. that is hilarious for fifteen seconds. Then you ask, "What's the next joke?" At first I said no to Oliver--I gave him names of other actors.

Why?
I was afraid I couldn't do it. Then it was, "Will it be a carbon copy, or in the spirit of Dr. Strangelove, or will it be real heavy?" I wanted to fuck around and have a good time with the gestures and voice and all that, but I wanted a Bush that was sustainable.

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