  james brolin (; born july 18, 1940) is an american actor, producer and director, best known for his roles in film and television, including sitcoms and soap operas. he is the father of actor josh brolin and husband of singer/actress barbra streisand. ==early life== brolin was born craig kenneth bruderlin in los angeles, california. the eldest of two brothers and two sisters, he was the son of helen sue (nÃ©e mansur), a housewife, and henry hurst bruderlin, a building contractor.california birth index, 1905-1995. center for health statistics, california department of health services, sacramento, california. at ancestry.comjames brolin (1940?-), filereference.com the family settled in westwood after his birth. as a young child, he was apparently more interested in animals and airplanes than in acting. when brolin was 10 in 1950, he began building and flying model airplanes. as a teenaged filmgoer in the mid-1950s he was particularly fascinated with actor james dean. when his parents invited a director over to his family's house for dinner before auditioning, he met another fellow actor and classmate, ryan o'neal, who was about a year younger than brolin. the two clicked and later enrolled in university high school located in west los angeles. however, bruderlin's own acting exposed his stifling shyness. his assurance grew when o'neal invited him to a casting agency. brolin graduated from high school in 1958, and his family was already encouraging him to become an actor like o'neal. ==career== ===early career=== prior to taking acting classes in school, brolin started out as a character actor on an episode of bus stop in 1961. the part led to parts in other television productions such as voyage to the bottom of the sea, margie, love, american style, [[twelve o'clock h
1940_births 20th-century_American_male_actors 20th_Century_Fox_contract_players 21st-century_American_male_actors American_male_film_actors American_male_soap_opera_actors American_male_television_actors American_television_directors Best_Supporting_Actor_Golden_Globe_(television)_winners California_Democrats Living_people Male_actors_from_Los_Angeles,_California Outstanding_Performance_by_a_Cast_in_a_Motion_Picture_Screen_Actors_Guild_Award_winners Outstanding_Performance_by_a_Supporting_Actor_in_a_Drama_Series_Primetime_Emmy_Award_winners University_High_School_(Los_Angeles,_California)_alumni