With director Joseph Kosinski’s Only the Brave now in theaters, I recently landed an exclusive interview with star Josh Brolin. He talked about his initial meetings with Kosinski, portraying these true-life heroes, if it’s difficult pretending to be married to Jennifer Connelly, the way he likes to work on set, and so much more. In addition, Brolin talks about working with director David Leitch on Deadpool 2, Cable’s origin, when he might start filming X-Force, the Sicario sequel, Soldado, and playing Thanos in the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Infinity War.

If you haven’t seen the Only the Brave trailers, the film is based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who battled the Yarnell Hill wildfire, which blazed through Arizona in June 2013. Brolin plays the guy at the top, superintendent Eric Marsh, and Miles Teller plays his new recruit, Brendan McDonaugh. As the film unfolds, we watch as a group of local firefighters fight to become one of the most elite firefighting teams in the nation. It’s an extremely well made film that shows the determination and sacrifice of these brave men and women. Only the Brave also stars Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale, and Taylor Kitsch.

Check out what Josh Brolin had to say below.

Collider: I get to talk to you twice in a week. This is a good week for me.

BROLIN: No, it's a good week for me too. Literally. It's like somebody who I'm familiar with. Thank God. Even if it's just the four-minute familiarity.

I have friends that are actors that talk about doing press. They say it's definitely a little bit of a challenge when you're being asked a lot of the same questions.

BROLIN: You know what? It is. Not just that. The harder press is when you're going ... This one's pretty good and it's been pretty intimate. It's been fairly familial because of what we are dealing with, and the fact that we're doing a lot of these screenings for first responders, and we're doing for charitable purposes, and all that, so it had a little different ring to it, which is nice.

Usually ... Not usually, but half the time you go around you have to lie about a movie. You're like, "This is great," and you know it sucks. You're just going, "What am I doing? What am I doing with my life? Who am I?" You try to find the most redeeming part of whatever it is that you're trying to exploit and get people in seats for. With this one, it's the opposite, man. As empty as you can feel during this process is the opposite of how I feel right now.

The movie's fantastic and it does a great job at portraying these true-life heroes. There's nothing to be down about when it comes to something like this.

BROLIN: Yeah. I feel the same way, man. I don't think that we exploit them wrongly in any way. I do think that we exploit them, but we exploit them in a way that is true to the spirit of who they collectively were and I love the response. The response isn't just like, "Wow. There's a performance that stands out." People have been very nice to me, but at the same time, they talk about Joseph Kosinski. They talk about the movie. They talk about the spirit in which it lives. It's always nice to be in a great movie, or a really good movie, instead of really good and then kind of okay movie. I've been at least perceived to be both, and I really appreciate that people are focusing on the movie itself.

Have to ask you, how hard is it to pretend to be married to Jennifer Connelly?

BROLIN: That sounds like that's a loaded question, man. It's wonderful, man. She's really wonderful. People talk about that scene in the car, and she's a tough cookie because she's very raw. We did that scene a bunch of different ways and Joe picked the one that he felt was the most stripped down and raw and emotional, and I think he was right. She's a beautiful girl. You forget because, yeah, she was beautiful on set, but she was definitely stripped down. I don't mean literally. I mean emotionally. Then you see on the red carpet and you're like, "Holy shit. My God."

She's what we call a talented actor.

BROLIN: Yeah. Yeah, she's the real deal.

I'm sure there's a number of scripts that come across your desk. I'm sure there's a lot of directors that present you with material. Talk a little bit about that first meeting with Joseph and him pitching you on the idea.

Collider: How you doing today, sir?

BROLIN: Well, he came to Asheville, North Carolina, and I was a little curmudgeon-y because I was little frustrated with the role that I was doing. I was 50 pounds overweight and it was all for the movie that I was doing, but I was a little reticent. Having done a couple of other movies that were very ambitious that I thought that directors presented themselves as one of the guys that it didn't turn out to necessarily be that way, I was definitely reticent and especially because I was ... I've been involved in the firefighting community for the last 30 years, which I think I told you. Even more so because a lot of these guys don't want to be exploited in any way.

It's funny because Joe comes across in this kind of “Tom Slick” way. Not slick, but just his look. He's an architect. He's very ... I don't know. He's kind of nerdy looking. He didn't try and sell me in the way that these other guys had. Like, "I'm going to be there with you," and, "I'm the real thing." He just told me how impassioned he was about this script.

He didn't say that it was his one ... What do they call it? “Passion project.” He just said, "I really appreciate this story. I came across this story. I'm somebody who's done some really technically proficient films, but this is just something that it grabbed me and started pulling at my heartstrings." It's a movie that hasn't been done for a while. The last movie really of note that's been done about firefighting is Backdraft. We have our own feelings about Backdraft.

It just seemed like a great opportunity, but more than anything I just wanted to ... I wanted to work with somebody who was willing to be in it with us and be a great leader as opposed to kind of be off on the side wrapped in a cashmere sweater and kind of taking care of his own selfish needs. He turned out to be that in spades.

I've talked to him a number of times. He's just a really smart guy too.

BROLIN: He is an extremely smart guy. That's the thing is you have ... He's able to get in there and be kind of an incredible director and demand certain things of you. In this case, demand the rawness and the community that I think he was a major advocate of and pushed for. Then on the other side of it, like I said, he's kind technically a brilliant filmmaker. By the way, he was smart enough not to make too complex of a film. The film feels very much like the subject matter, which is straightforward, and not trying to hide it with a bunch of overtly "interesting" shots. I think he has enough in there, but I think they all tend to lend to the behavior of what's going on, which I think was really smart of him.

Do you find that you're better in your first few takes or do you feel like it takes you a little bit to warm up to the moment?

BROLIN: I think that's a better question for Joe, but he's told me specifically of what he thinks Jeff Bridges is, what he thinks I am, what he thinks Miles [Teller] is. I'll put it this way. I don't think my first few takes are normally the best. I think that I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a fairly nervous actor in the beginning and I need to really feel comfortable in order to kind of find my way inside a scene. I'm very experimental. I think once we do a few takes I start to really find my way with where I think the scene lands the best.

It's so interesting. I've watched a number of actors work on set and some give a very familiar ... It's like they're trying to hit a certain thing that mentally they have, and then I've seen other people, like Woody Harrelson, where every take is completely different.

BROLIN: Yeah. I don't want to hit a thing. I don't want to imagine that there's any one thing that exists. In anybody's behavior, whether it be yours or ... Anybody who I've ever come across, I don't think ... It just feels like a manipulation. When you're around somebody who has an intention you can feel the manipulation in the air, and I don't appreciate it. It usually is for something that's selfish. To me, if we do enough research and we do enough prep in really trying to understand the spirit of who we're playing then when you let it go.

When they say, "Oh, you cry in this scene," and then, "This you do this." I go, "Ah. Do away with all that stuff." Somebody who is emotional may start to laugh hysterically because that's the way that one person deals with a tragedy. Not necessarily laughing per se, but you know what I mean? Crying is not always the result of a sad feeling. They may cover it up. They may go hard. They may go ... You know what I mean? If I'm available to what's going on in the moment and depending on what the other actor's doing, anything can happen. I like it. It's scary. It's a scary place to put yourself in, but between Jennifer and I. That was done a lot of different ways, and rightly so because then it's up to Joe to get in the editing room and see what feels right within the emotional trajectory of the whole movie.

When you do a scene like that with Jennifer in the car, it's very raw. It's emotional. I'm sure it's something that you're not just banging out in 30 minutes. How long does it take you to ... You must leave set after that and sort of just be emotionally exhausted. Can you sort of talk about that and sort of regrouping after doing such a scene?

BROLIN: Luckily, she's such a good person that I can go and I can kind of decompress, but then there's also ... She said it a few times. She said, "You get a certain way when you work, and I don't know what that way is, and we don't really get specific about it, but I know that your nerves are a exposed and you don't want them not to be. You want to be available." It strange because when I was doing Deadpool there was more stress that I felt in general than I felt during Only the Brave, Granite Mountain.

Why? I don't know. I don't know. Maybe because I'm so busy. It's a movie that's so emotional or so kind of behaviorally alive that I can relax, where maybe Deadpool was the opposite. I don't know. I don't know and I don't really think about it until I talk to you. Until I talk to you and try to deconstruct it. I've gotten to a point in my career where the only thing that I really try and go for is to be as available as possible and to make sure that I do my prep so that when I show up that I know it's like, "Look, I know I can do this scene a few different ways. I think this is the direction to go. I'll talk to the director about it, and then I just kind of throw caution to the wind and go for it."

Sure.

BROLIN: That can also set myself up for great humiliation, which I'm totally willing to embrace.

You bring up Deadpool. I'm a huge fan of David [Leitch]'s and I just can't wait to see what he does with the material. One of the thing's David known for is action. He's a very, very good action director. What can you tease people about the action in the sequel? What surprised you about doing it?

BROLIN: I had heard somewhere along the line, and I think it's okay for me to say this, but I heard somewhere along the line that they felt the first Deadpool didn't have enough action. I don't know who said that or why they said that or even if I felt that. I don't think I did because I loved the first Deadpool. I thought it was really kind of irreverent, and amazing, and intelligent, and turned everything on its head, and I appreciated it.

With this movie, it's just a different deal. He embraces what he's very good at, which I think is very smart. There's ton of action in it. The tease is, a guy who's 49 years old on the cusp of 50 who got in the best shape of his life, especially exteriorly, and I was extremely disciplined throughout that whole thing. I got beat to shit on that movie. That's all I know. I had stuntmen throwing me all over the place. I've got a shoulder issue, I've got a knee issue that I've got to deal with now, but we got through it. We got through it. I pushed hard and I suffered because of it.

One of the things that I think a lot of people are curious about is Cable's origin... The character of Cable has been something that's been explored for a very long time and I think a lot of fans are curious, sort of what version is going to be in the film and how much are they going to reveal in this one? How much about his story is going to be spread out over the next few films?

BROLIN: I think that's the biggest thing. No, no, no. I'm not going to tell you how much I'm in the film, but it's his introduction, and I think his introduction, even in the small promos and teasers that we've seen, that David has showed me, I think it's a proper reveal. I think we're not trying to hide the fact that this is the beginning of Cable and absolutely not the end. I think when you're sensitive about how you appreciate it. When you're sensitive about how you reveal this character there's a sense of mystery in it, so then when we finally get into X-Force that you're going to be with this guy full blown all the time. There's a lot to be revealed. There's a lot to be revealed, but there's three more movies to reveal more.

Have they said to you anything about when they want to start filming X-Force or it's just some time next year?

BROLIN: I think it's just some time. Let's see. When's next year? What year are we in now?

We're in the end of 2017.

BROLIN: '17? Yeah, I think it's sometime next year or soon thereafter. It might even be ... It depends. It all depends. It depends on how Deadpool does, but I don't think that's a make or break kind of deal. Drew Goddard is already involved in it. He's into it now. I know he and Ryan [Reynolds] were meeting. I've met him once, and so this is all kind of going ahead. How it goes ahead, I know that we're preparing or they're preparing, and I know that it's something that I'm set to do. When it happens they're going to put together is such a big . . . I think Drew Goddard is going his movie right now and then once he's kind of wrapped up with that and this movie comes out I think we'll be ready to start the other one.

I'm very confident that Fox is moving forward as quick as they can. I've got to jump into something else. I am so amped up for Soldado.

BROLIN: I'm glad, man. You know what? That movie, honestly, I'll just tell you really quick, when I first saw it I was like, "Okay, it's a good movie and I think we need to trim some things. We need to this, and this, and that to it." Everybody else had their notes and then when they saw the final it's a really good movie. I'm really excited about it. I was actually surprised at how good it turned out.

Sicario is unbelievable, but the main reason I want to see Soldado is Taylor [Sheridan]. Taylor's script is obviously the main reason I'm sure you guys all wanted to come back. What was your reaction when you read the script?

BROLIN: It was fantastic, and what he did, and who he chose to focus on, and what he ... He's a guy who understands the rules very well, but then he can't wait to break the rules. I think the way he's breaking the rules right now is really, really interesting. He understands drama better than most people, and we're all looking ... It's kind of like when No Country came out. You have your people that were like, "Oh, I want it to be this," or, "I want something different," and then they get something different and they go, "Well, where's the great Hollywood ending?" But they're so appreciative of it that they don't even ... They've seen it three or four or five times. You know what I'm saying?

Sure.

BROLIN: I haven't seen a writer since then actually kind of promote the kind of a new way of storytelling in the way that he has, and it's not sloppy. To me, it's brilliantly structured in what he chooses to focus on in Soldado. If we go on and do a third one, I'd think it'd be great. I think it's appropriate if we choose to do that.

Were you surprised though at the success of the first one or were you like, "This is a really f-ing good movie. This is going to be a big ... People are coming out for this"?

BROLIN: When I saw it, I said, "This is a really f-ing good movie." When I finished the movie, I thought it was going to be okay. I had seen Denis [Villeneuve]'s movies. I know he was a great director, but not everybody's perfect and not everybody can put a good movie together no matter what their intentions are, but when I saw Sicario I didn't know what happened. I was like, "I know we accomplished a good movie, but why don't I remember this?"

I kind of felt the same way, and maybe that all stems from Taylor Sheridan's writing and the fact that you can only fuck up his scripts to a certain extent, but it's still going to be a good movie because maybe it does all start with the script. When you have an okay script you're constantly manipulating it to make it sound decent is one thing. When you have a great script and you're just trying to do justice to it, maybe that's something else, and I think that's what we experienced with him.

Do you think that with Soldado...How do you think it compares to the first one in terms of tone and the way it deals with the drug war or is it a completely different journey, completely different thing?

BROLIN: I think it's just more severe, man. All the way around. I think the characters are more severe. I think the movie is more severe. I think it's just much bigger. It's just a bigger scope film. Like I said, when I saw it it was like Sicario felt like a small movie to me, even though it was a very intimate movie. I've always said I don't understand why bigger movies can't be just as intimate, if not more intimate. Why do they have to be less emotional? I think Soldado's a perfect example of that. I think it's extremely emotional. I think it's extremely tense and it deals with similar subject matters.

Fans are going to love you as Cable. The reaction to the pictures has been very, very strong. But I have to jump into Avengers for a second because it's pretty obvious that in Infinity War or in the fourth movie some of the Avengers are going to die. They're fighting someone incredibly strong and this is the culmination of 22 movies. Are you prepared for fans to get mad at you when you are possibly killing off some of their favorite people?

BROLIN: Dude, I'm in a position just personally where not everybody loves me and that's okay. Look, not everybody can be on your side all the time and that's okay. When playing a character like this, dude, it's like there's something ... It really turned out ... I don't know any other way to put it. It really turned out to be one of the greatest experiences I've had. I'm still not done, but it's been incredible to be able to work with Russos, to be able to work with these guys. I had no idea. It's just a different type of acting, but then when I saw, they showed me a little six-minute teaser of a scene that I had done, and I was so blown away by how next level this digital process is and how real it feels. I don't know how I could be anything but happy. If everybody hates me at the end of it, I don't know, will it be worth it if it's a great movie? Maybe.

I think the Russos are amazing filmmakers, and I truly don't understand how they're able to film all year without collapsing because making one movie's hard, let alone two of the biggest movies ever made. I definitely want to ask you about working with them and maybe what surprised you about collaborating with them?

BROLIN: Look, I got Joe Russo who's constantly resourcing The Godfather and, "You have a gun to his fucking head." I'm like, ‘I love you so much. The fact that you're taking an Avengers scenario and you're turning it into a Godfather thing for us to be able to kind of hang our hat on is great and to emotionalize the whole thing.’” I think they were very happy where they said, "We didn't really realize that Thanos was going to be as complex as he is," and I think they were very appreciative with the stuff that we're bringing to it.

Also, I think that they're in a position very openly and rawly where they're like, "We would never do this again. This is a one-time deal. To put this many successful actors together is such a pain in the ass, but it's been worth it. We're doing two movies. One back to back, and this is it for us. Then we'll go off in another direction," but this is a very, very, very obviously ambitious project that I think is going to pay off in a big way.

Yeah, I spoke to Feige and he said ... Because I asked him what has been his reaction looking at the footage, looking at a rough cut of Infinity War? He said just how emotional it is. I thought that was very-

BROLIN: Well, that's what they said to me.

Yeah, which I can't wait because ultimately, listen, man ... Even with Deadpool, it doesn't matter how awesome the action is. It matters how much you love these characters who are then put in these situations.

BROLIN: That's what I say over, and over, and over, and over. If you don't care, nobody else will. Literally, if you don't care, if you can't identify in some way some kind of human connection, some kind of emotional connection with these characters. That's what was so great about the first Deadpool is people got him, so the movie was good. The movie was fine, but people got him, and now the anomaly of discovering Deadpool is over and now you get to discover some other characters around him. You'll still get Deadpool, which is what people want, but the truth of the matter is that reveal is over. I love that they're freshening it up in the way that they are because you get to reintroduce your ... You'll get to introduce yourself to other people who you will care about.

I think, at least in the case of Deadpool, I think you'll find Cable interesting. I don't think he's a one-note deal. I think that's the case with even though it's a mo-cap character with Thanos. He's not a one-note deal.

Well, also with-

BROLIN: End up caring about him and questioning why you're caring about him, which I think is really fun.

I'm going to be honest. I think that Marvel antagonists in their movies has not been their strength. Their strength has been a lot of other things. I think Loki was amazing, but ultimately, it's very important that Thanos is an awesome antagonist because you need to be afraid of him. You need to be scared. Do you think the film pulls that off?

BROLIN: I agree. I do. I can't tell you definitively, but how I feel right now and what I've spoken to the Russos about and Feige, absolutely. It actually more than pulls it off, and I think what they're coming up with based on what I've done, I think is next level.

Do you think George and Tammy will ever happen?

BROLIN: I'm hoping, man. We were supposed to start May 8th and we had [Roger] Deakins who was DPing it, and we were very happy about the setup, and then the financing got really sketchy there for a second. Then Deadpool came along, so we decided to do Deadpool for that moment instead because George and Tammy had fallen apart. I was just in Nashville and I went to the Country Music Hall of Fame museum and I went to the Johnny Cash Museum and all that, and it just kind of re-sparked that whole interest in that life and my childhood interest in that. Growing up with a mother who loved country music. I think it's possible. I'm not positive, but I think it's possible.

Well, listen, man, I have to say I'm sad that project fell apart, but man, I'm really excited to see you as Cable.

BROLIN: Thanks, brother. I really appreciate it.

Listen, have a fantastic day. Thank you so much for giving your time, and I'm sure I'll talk to you down the road in the next few months.

BROLIN: Absolutely. All right. Later.