Josh Brolin says Rian Johnson’s third “Knives Out” installment “Wake Up Dead Man” was a career wake up call.
Brolin told Variety that starring in the “Knives Out“-franchise feature helped prove to himself how far he has come as an actor — particularly during his sobriety journey. Brolin detailed struggling with alcohol in his memoir “From Under the Truck,” and reflected on how “Wake Up Dead Man” was a more complex role than he had taken on before.
“I read it and I was like, ‘This is so elevated,’” Brolin said. “This writing is supreme. And I got scared. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m good enough to do this. I don’t know if I can portray all these subtleties in a way that’s organic and authentic.’ But I prepped a lot and got ready for it. That would have all looked very different had I been drinking. I don’t know if I could have done it.”
Along with Brolin, the ensemble cast for the anthology film includes Josh O’Connor, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Glenn Close, Cailee Spaeny, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church, along with returning star Daniel Craig.
The film franchise began in 2019 with “Knives Out,” followed by 2022’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” Johnson previously confirmed a third “Knives Out” film for Netflix as part of his two-sequel deal valued at $450 million.
Brolin added that his outlook on acting has changed since being sober.
“It’s not that I wasn’t doing good work,” he said. “I was very professional when I was acting. I didn’t show up to work drunk a lot. I did every once in a while. But now that I’m sober, I’ve discovered different levels to the things I do.”
Brolin continued, “I feel so fortunate, because I had so many friends that died. I don’t have survivor guilt, but I do feel a sense of responsibility to live my life to the fullest. I wasn’t one of those people where I didn’t know what happened when I was drinking. I didn’t black out. I chose to drink, and I did some horrible things after making that choice. I was willing to endure those horrible things in order to have an identity. Because without alcohol, I didn’t feel like I was a full person.”
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” will release in 2025. The first “Knives Out” was distributed in theaters by Lionsgate in 2019; Netflix gave “Glass Onion” a week-long theatrical play before its streaming debut. “Glass Onion” was the widest-ever release for Netflix, and its first movie to screen in AMC and Regal locations.
While it’s unclear if “Wake Up Dead Man” will get a theatrical release or not, franchise staple actor Craig told Variety that he thinks “Wake Up Dead Man” should screen in theaters for longer than “Glass Onion.”
“Hopefully, Netflix will push it out a bit, and people will get to see it,” Craig said. “The people I speak to — the fans, I suppose — all they want to do is take their families and go see it at the cinemas. That’s all they want to do. Hopefully we can give them that experience.”
