George W. Bush Was 1 of the Few Figures Christian Bale Couldn’t Play in Josh Brolin’s ‘W’
Christian Bale was initially tapped to portray George Bush for many reasons, including the actor’s star-power. But he was replaced by Josh Brolin after dropping out of the project, although the film’s director was reluctant to bring Brolin on board.
Christian Bale was originally cast as George W. Bush in ‘W’
W was a 2008 biographical feature starring Josh Brolin as the former president. The movie was directed by veteran director Oliver Stone, and chronicled Bush’s life and his journey to the oval office. Although audiences would see Brolin portray Bush, Bale was the actor Stone had in mind for the role. At the time of casting, Brolin wasn’t on Stone’s radar due to his perceived star-power.
“I needed a star, though, and Josh Brolin was not a star,” Stone once told GQ (via Film Detail).
The Oscar-winner was known for immersing himself in a variety of roles with his method acting. In 2018, he’d even gained a considerable amount of weight to portray another political figure in Dick Cheney in the movie Vice. But in the end, Bale couldn’t wrap his head around playing George Bush. Which Brolin was grateful for.
“He got nervous,” Brolin said in a 2008 interview with ABC News. “I haven’t talked to Christian about this, but I’m glad he decided it wasn’t for him.”
Stone shared that it was the possibility of wearing prostheses in the role of George Bush that discouraged Bale from taking the part.
“We did some rigorous prosthetic tests and spent a lot of dough—thousands and thousands of dollars—and then Christian said, ‘I just don’t feel like I can do it.’ I met Josh and liked him. He was more rural Americana. But man, he was scared s***less,” Stone said.
Josh Brolin felt ‘insulted’ when he was asked to play George W. Bush
Like Bale, Brolin also had his reservations about playing the polarizing president. The Marvel star had opposing political views that made him feel unfit for the feature. Although he grew up in a Republican household, he found himself leaning towards the Democratic party. And apart from his political affiliations, Brolin was unsure why Stone would have him in mind for the role to begin with.
“When people approach you about roles, you understand why they would make the connection. But when [Stone] came to me about Bush, I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t make any connection whatsoever. I was a little insulted. He said, ‘There’s something very Americana about you. There’s something bucolic about you,’” Brolin once told USA Today (via The Guardian).
But this changed after reading the script, as he thought the feature’s strength was its portrayal of the former president.
“I had such a visceral reaction against it. But then I thought about it, and I had to get up and read the script. I read it one morning, and I thought it was amazing. I didn’t love the story, but as a character, following a guy from 21 to 58 was an incredible challenge for an actor that I didn’t think I could pull off,” he said.
Why Josh Brolin didn’t have to wear a prosthetic like Christian Bale did to play George W. Bush
Brolin wasn’t made to look like Bush in the movie. Initially, however, he was supposed to wear make-up to mold his facial features into Bush’s. But The Goonies actor convinced Stone that being in a prosthetic would only risk getting in the way of his performance.
“I felt we had to get away from me but not do a carbon copy of George Bush,” Brolin once told Toronto Star. “My intention was to act like him as opposed to looking like him. I felt if I was to use prosthetics and look exactly like him, it would have been distracting. I think there was enough of a difference and to me it worked.”
Brolin relied on extensive research and his own acting abilities in place of make-up to emulate the president.
“I spent a lot of time alone and I read a lot of books and watched a lot of videos – more than you can ever imagine: over and over and over. I really focused on this role and it was hard to let it go. It all happened very, very fast and I only finished eight weeks ago. The leftover is that every time I tell a joke now I sound like W and I hate it. My kids go `Stop doing the voice thing,’” he said.
