James Brolin (born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor, producer, and director. He has appeared in over 140 film and television productions since his debut in 1961 and is the recipient of two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Brolin is known for his TV roles such as Steven Kiley on Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–76), Peter McDermott on Hotel (1983–88), LCol. Bill Kelly on Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1997–2000), John Short on Life in Pieces (2015–19), and the Narrator on Sweet Tooth (2021–24). His notable film roles include Sgt. Jerome K. Weber in Skyjacked (1972), John Blane in Westworld (1973), George Lutz in The Amityville Horror (1979), General Ralph Landry in Traffic (2000), Jack Barnes in Catch Me If You Can (2002), and the voice of Emperor Zurg in the Toy Story spin-off film Lightyear (2022).

For his contributions to the television industry, Brolin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin and the husband of Barbra Streisand.

Brolin was born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin on July 18, 1940, in Westwood Village, Los Angeles, California. The eldest of two brothers and two sisters, he is the son of Helen Sue (née Mansur), a housewife, and Henry Hurst Bruderlin, a building contractor. As a young child, Brolin was interested in animals and in model airplanes, which he began building and flying when he was 10. As a teenage filmgoer in the mid-1950s, Brolin was particularly fascinated with actor James Dean, and he began shooting 8 mm films.

Brolin attended Santa Monica City College and studied drama at the University of California Los Angeles before signing a contract with 20th Century Fox in 1960. At Fox, he started out as a contract player in Sandra Dee movies. Brolin appeared 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; 12 O'Clock High; and The Long, Hot Summer. He made three guest appearances on the popular 1960s series Batman, alongside Adam West and Burt Ward, as well as roles in The Virginian, and Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law alongside Arthur Hill and Lee Majors. He also had a recurring role on the short-lived television series The Monroes.

At age 20, Brolin changed his surname from "Bruderlin" to "Brolin" to become James Brolin ("Bruder" is the German word for "brother"). Brolin also had small roles in several films including Take Her, She's Mine (1963), Dear Brigitte (1965), Von Ryan's Express (1965), and Fantastic Voyage (1966). The following year, his first big role was in The Cape Town Affair (1967), but it did not receive any success at the box office. Brolin was ultimately fired by 20th Century Fox. In 1969, he got his big break co-starring in the TV series Marcus Welby, M.D., with numerous awards kickstarting his film career.

In the 1970s, Brolin was 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and began appearing in leading roles in films, including Skyjacked (1972) and Westworld (1973). By the mid-1970s, he was a regular leading man in films, starring in Gable and Lombard (1976), The Car (1977), Capricorn One (1978, in which he costarred with Elliott Gould, Streisand's ex-husband), The Amityville Horror (1979), Night of the Juggler (1980), and High Risk (1981). When Roger Moore expressed his desire to vacate the role of James Bond, Brolin undertook screen tests to replace him in Octopussy (1983). It has been reported that not only were these successful, but Brolin was about to move to London to begin work on the film when the producers persuaded Moore to continue.

In 1985, Brolin parodied his near-hiring as James Bond in the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure.