Josh Brolin knows a "different guy" to the Donald Trump who is president now

Josh told The Independent: "I'm not scared of Trump, because even though he says he's staying for ever, it's just not going to happen. And if it does, then I'll deal with that moment. But having been a friend of Trump before he was president, I know a different guy."

The No Country for Old Men actor was intrigued by Trump and the idea of building a $400 million hotel "in the middle of a cesspool city during the late Seventies - that's interesting to me."

He added: "Now it's power unmitigated, it's unregulated."

Josh praised the president for being a marketing "genius" and can understand why he has appealed to so many US citizens.

He said: "There is no greater genius than him in marketing - he takes the weakness of the general population and fills it. And that's why I think a lot of people feel that they have a mascot in him. I think it's much less about Trump than it is about the general population and their need for validation."

While they used to be friends, back in 2020, Josh spoke out against Trump's campaign to be voted US President for the first time.

He wrote on Instagram at the time: "I refuse to believe that Donald Trump is our core version of American masculinity.

"The America that was great was never based on creating hate and conspiracy in order to win. There have been a few, but none has lasted.

"Donald Trump has lied over 50,000 documented times, but we still are willing to let it go because he speaks to an American demographic that no longer felt masculine."

And last year, the Dune star recalled a bizarre encounter at Trump's apartment in New York.

Speaking on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, he recalled: "I said, 'What's upstairs?' He said, 'Our bedroom.'

"And I said, 'Can I see upstairs?' He said, 'Yeah.' And then nobody moved. And I said, 'Cool. So should we go up?' And he said, 'Yeah.' And then he still didn't move. And I'm thinking, 'What the f*** is happening?'"