Josh Brolin recalls his interaction with 99-year-old grandmother that made him give up alcohol

Josh Brolin opened up about how his 99-year-old grandmother had inspired him to give up alcohol. Brolin joined Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson in the duo's SiriusXM podcast called Where Everybody Knows Your Name on Wednesday, September 11, to share about his sobriety journey.

The actor revealed that he was supposed to visit his grandmother, who was "on her deathbed," but before that, he explained that there was a "hit and run at Del Taco." He said "woke up on the sidewalk" with no memory of where his car was. Brolin added that it wasn't a rare situation for him, saying that it had happened about the "400th time." But, it was the last night he drank alcohol.

When he eventually went to the facility where his grandmother was staying, after fetching his brother, he said:

"Everybody knew when I walked into the room, (grandmother) picked her head up and looked and me and smiled and that was it. I was done. I said, 'If this woman could get through 99 years on life's terms, how dare me?'"

Josh Brolin has been candid about his sobriety and how it changed his life for the better. He entered rehab for substance abuse in 2013 after getting arrested for public intoxication. The Brothers actor told the Guardian in March 2014 that it was a "turning point" in his life and had made him "think of a lot of things."

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"My life now is better"— Josh Brolin reflects on sobriety

Elsewhere in the podcast, Woody Harrelson asked Josh Brolin if he ever feels like he's "dying to have a drink" when he's around people who are drinking, to which Brolin quickly answered, "No." The No Country for Old Men actor explained why drinking doesn't tempt him as it did before, saying:

"I feel like something's been cultivated in me that I helped cultivate that, that my life now is better than my greatest romance of any drink I could have."

He further explained that while he loved his life before, there are parts of it that he didn't like.

"I actually like my life. Not that I didn't before, because I loved it before, except when I would write indecipherable texts. That—I didn't like that."

Josh Brolin celebrated 10 years of being sober last year. He took to Instagram to celebrate the milestone. In his November 2023 post, the Outer Range actor proudly shared a picture of her 10-year Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety chip with the name "Josh F**kin' Brolin" etched on the coin.

He explained in the caption that "today isn't to be celebrated any more than any other day." However, he wanted to share what the sobriety coin represents to people who are "thinking about a way out of their tornado of shame. Brolin also shared hopes for people struggling with sobriety, saying that they will "eventually transform into the diamond of liberty that you always deserved to be."

Josh Brolin also revealed in SmartLess podcast in March 2024 that sobriety is an "open dialogue" within his family and that getting sober has helped him parent his younger kids. He also shared that he's hopeful that his kids learned from his "mistakes," which he called "so extreme that it was definitely a warning light."