James Brolin Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the 2008 Hollywood Film Festival award for actor of the year
• Majored in theater arts while attending the University of California
• Started his career as a character actor, playing bit parts in television and film
• Was fascinated with the actor James Dean as a teenager
• Quote: "I think you can have a whole terrific, smart career as a second and third banana and work more and have much less risk than the lead guy․ But I like being the lead guy․"
• Quote: "I remember at the premiere of my second movie I started crying․ I thought, I'm so bad that I either have to stop this and do something else or learn what I'm doing․"
• The medical drama "Marcus Welby, M․D․" became a turning point in his career, and after the series ended, he went on to play a number of leading roles in film
• Best known for playing Dr․ Steven Kiley in "Marcus Welby, M․D․" and Peter McDermott in "Hotel․"
• He is a horse breeder and has devoted a large amount of time to being a horseman
• With a passion for aviation, he has managed to attain a pilot's license
• As a child, he had an intense interest in airplanes and began building and flying model airplanes when he was 10