Josh Brolin Talks Past Heroin Use: "Most of Those Guys I Grew Up With, They're All Dead Now"

"That sounds so horrible when you put it like that. But yeah, I tried heroin. I mean, I never got into it and I never died from it, which is a good thing," he said during an interview

By Bruna Nessif Mar 15, 2014 12:22 AMTags
Josh BrolinDave J Hogan/Getty Images

It's no surprise Josh Brolin has had his issues with substance abuse.

However, the Labor Day star was very candid about his drug-using past during an interview with The Guardian, where he talked about trying heroin in his younger years.

"It was Santa Barbara," he began as he recalled the days he was part of a surf group called the Cito Rats. "It was the 80's. It was punk rock. You either had the children of rich, neglectful parents or children of poor, neglectful parents, so it was a mix. But we basically grew up the same way. I've never seen a group like that before or since."

Brolin admitted to robbing cars to buy drugs and ran in and out of trouble. "I tried heroin," he said. "That sounds so horrible when you put it like that. But yeah, I tried heroin. I mean, I never got into it and I never died from it, which is a good thing. I've had 19 friends who died. Most of those guys I grew up with, they're all dead now."

The actor's mentality on being open to try new things has definitely changed since then. "I used to think you should try to deconstruct everything. Experience everything. Just get yourself out there. But I don't believe that anymore. Having adventures is all very well, but an imagination can make up for all that. That's the more intelligent way to be. And it keeps you out of harm's way."

This isn't the first time the celeb has talked about this. In the February 2013 issue of Men's Journal, he revealed that he began experimenting with drugs during his teen years in Montecito, Calif., mentioning his time with the Rats and saying he stole car parts to buy "drums and drugs."

Brolin, 46, had spent nearly four weeks checked into a rehab facility in Northern California near the end of last year. The star—who was in the process of divorcing his wife, actress Diane Lane, at the time—made headlines after he allegedly got drunk and fought a bar patron at O'Brien's Irish Pub in Santa Monica, Calif.

Seems like some rest and recovery was just what he needed.