Birthday's to share this week : 8th - 14th February 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week? 

Josh Brolin does, on 12th February - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 47, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 8th February

• Mary Steenbergen - Born 1953, turns 62 - Actress | Producer
• Seth Green - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Nick Nolte - Born 1941, turns 74 - Actor | Producer
• John Williams - Born 1932, turns 83 - Composer | Songwriter

Monday 9th February

• Tom Hiddleston - Born 1981, turns 34 - Actor
• Joe Pesci - Born 1943, turns 72 - Actor
• Ciaran Hinds - Born 1953, turns 62 - Actor
• Mia Farrow - Born 1945, turns 70 - Actress

Tuesday 10th February

• Chloe Grace Moretz - Born 1997, turns 18 - Actress
• Elizabeth Banks - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Laura Dern - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Robert Wagner  -Born 1930, turns 85 - Actor | Producer
• Michael Apted - Born 1941, turns 74 - Director | Producer

Wednesday 11th February

• Taylor Lautner - Born1992, turns 23 - Actor
• Damian Lewis  -Born 1971, turns 44 - Actor | Producer
• Burt Reynolds - Born 1936, turns 79 - Actor | Producer | Director | Singer
• Jennifer Aniston - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actress | Producer

Thursday 12th February

• Annette Crosbie - Born 1934, turns 81 - Actress
• Christina Ricci - Born 1980, turns 35 - Actress | Producer
• Sigfrid Thornton - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actress
• Josh Brolin - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• Darren Aronofsky - Born 1969, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Michael Ironside - Born 1950, turn s65 - Actor | Producer
• Joe Don Baker - Born 1936, turns 79 - Actor

Friday 13th February

• Neal McDonough - Born 1966, turns 49 - Actor | Producer
• Henry Rollins - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• George Segal - Born 1934, turns 81 - Actor
• Stockard Channing - Born 1944, turns 71 - Actress
• Kim Novak - Born 1933, turns 82 - Actress
• Mena Suvari - Born 1979, turns 36 - Actress

Saturday 14th February

• Simon Pegg - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actor | Writer | Producer

Josh James Brolin was born in Santa Monica, California - the son of Jane Cameron Agee a wildlife activist and James Brolin, the Actor. He was raised on a ranch and had little exposure, growing up, to the world of his fathers acting career. At 16 his parents divorced, and his father then remarried in 1986 to Jane Smithers - a film and television actress, but that partnership came to an end in 1995. In 1998 he married again for the third time to singer/songwriter/actress Barbara Streisand and they remain married to this day.

The young Brolin was never that interested in acting as a career having seen the impact of it on his family life and his parents divorce. In fact he had early thoughts on becoming a Chef, but at high school he took an acting class, and liked it so much that the notion took hold. His first screen role came in the Richard Donner Directed and Steven Spielberg Produced 'The Goonies' in 1985, and then a year later in 'Thrashin'' - a story of rival skateboard gangs. From here various television series and made for TV movies followed including 'Private Eye', 'The Young Riders', 'Winnetka Road' and he was closely considered for the role of Officer Tom Hanson in the TV series hit '21 Jump Street' which eventually went to a young Johnny Depp.

By now it was the mid-90's and a series of average films followed - 'The Road Killers' in 1994, 'Bed of Roses', 'Flirting with Disaster' and 'Gang in Blue' all in 1996, and in 1997 'My Brothers War', 'Nightwatch' and 'Mimic'. The decade closed out with 'The Mod Squad', 'Best Laid Plans' and 'All the Rage'. None of his films up to this point had met with any significant critical acclaim and the first half of the new decade brought mediocre offerings too with the likes of 'Hollow Man' with Kevin Bacon, 'Slow Burn' with Minnie Driver to whom he would later become engaged to for a brief period of just six months, 'Melinda and Melinda', 'Into the Blue' and 'Dead Girl' with Toni Collette.

2007 however, brought a change of acting fortune with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez casting Brolin in their twin tribute to Grindhouse Cinema with his role in 'Planet Terror'. That same year came his lead role in the Coen Brothers 'No Country for Old Men' which met with huge critical acclaim, won four Academy Awards and a swathe of others. Paul Haggis cast him next with Tommy Lee Jones in 'In the Valley of Elah' and then came the acclaimed Ridley Scott offering 'American Gangster' with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

With his acting fortunes very much on the rise he was cast by Oliver Stone to star in 'W' as President George W. Bush in this bio-pic chronicle of his life and time in office. Gus Van Sant chose him next for the role of Dan White alongside Sean Penn in 'Milk' which garnered Brolin an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor. 

After this came his lead role as the scarred anti-hero comic book character 'Johan Hex' in the film of the same name. Costing US$47M to make it tanked at the Box Office making just US$11M. He was cast again by Oliver Stone in 2010 to star with Michael Douglas and Shia LaBoeuf in the 'Wall Street' follow-up 'Money Never Sleeps', and that same year by the Coen's again in the much lauded 'True Grit' remake with Jeff Bridges. 

This led to 'MIB3' again retiming with Tommy Lee Jones, 'The Gangster Squad' again with Sean Penn, 'Labour Day' with Kate Winslett, in Spike Lee's Hollywood remake of vengeance film 'Oldboy' and the 'Sin City' sequel last year for Robert Rodriguez taking on the role of Dwight from Clive Owen in 'A Dame to Kill For'. 

Out imminently is 'Inherent Vice' Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Joaquin Phoenix which has two Oscar nods and a raft of award wins already under its belt. Next up in adventure drama 'Everest' with an all star cast due later in 2015, then crime drama 'Sicario' with Benicio Del Toro and Emily Blunt, and 'Hail, Caesar' in 2016 with Channing Tatum, George Clonney and a host of other A-list talent.

Brolin has 57 acting credits to his name, four Producer credits and one Director credit for his 2008 short film 'X'. He was nominated in 2009 for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor in 'Milk' and has a total 15 award wins and 29 nominations. He was married to Actress Alice Adair from 1988 to 1994 with whom he has two children - Trevor born in 1988 and Eden born in 1994. He remarried, to Actress Diane Lane in 2004 and they divorced in late 2013. He is an active stock trader and in fact has made a lot of money day trading from home using his own purpose built trading floor. He is also an avid car racer and surfer.

Josh Brolin - often plays the upstanding law enforcing tough guy, or the violent anti-hero, but always playing it with conviction and realism. A diverse range of films from a Actor who has been in and around the movie business all his life, and whose talents have only really come to the fore in the last seven or eight years . . . and there is still so much more to come! Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-