Hollywood star Josh Brolin has 'softened a bit'

Sir Ridley Scott thinks Josh Brolin has "softened a bit" over the last 20 years.

The 88-year-old director previously worked with Josh on American Gangster, the 2007 crime thriller - but Ridley thinks the actor has mellowed quite a lot since then.

Ridley - who has reunited with Josh for The Dog Stars, his new action movie - told People: "He’d actually softened a bit. I mean, in a good way."

Josh, 58, plays a hardened survivalist in The Dog Stars, and Ridley thinks he developed a great on-screen chemistry with Jacob Elordi.

The acclaimed director explained: "Bangley and Hig, to me, were The Odd Couple. There’s two guys thrown together by the situation, and they’re not well-suited at all. They constantly bicker and argue.

"So right there, I started to see there was humour in the situation. I always try to find humour and bring it out because people always want humour if you can, even within a drama."

Meanwhile, Ridley previously suggested that he's become a better filmmaker as he's aged.

The director - whose previous credits include Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Black Hawk Down - explained that he's become much more efficient and refined as his career has progressed.

He told the Guardian newspaper in 2025: "What happens – providing you sustain all your marbles – is that you refine your game. I can now work eight to 11 cameras.

"I finished my latest film in 34 days. It would normally be 60. Gladiator was 48; normally, 100. I’ve learned to formulate and predetermine, plan on paper and storyboard in my head. That’s why it’s so efficient.

"My game was tennis. I’ve just had my final knee replacement. I did one in 2012 and the other last week. So that’s the end of tennis. But like any game, the more you practise, the better you get. Forty years of tennis, I became quite good. If I hadn’t played tennis, I’d be a 300lb [136kg] couch potato."