Josh Brolin Reflects on His Past Friendship with Donald Trump: ‘I Know a Different Guy’

Josh Brolin is opening up about his past friendship with Donald Trump.

The actor, 57, reflected on their relationship — and shared his thoughts about Trump, 79, potentially running for a third term — in a new interview with The Independent published on Saturday, Nov. 29. 

“I’m not scared of Trump, because even though he says he’s staying forever, it’s just not going to happen,” Brolin said.

“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,” he added.

Trump has teased the possibility of running for a third presidential term on numerous occasions, despite the fact that the 22nd Amendment legally forbids it.

Brolin met Trump after appearing in the 2010 film Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, back when the president was predominantly known as a real estate mogul, per The Independent. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“I’m sure there was a lot of corruption involved,” Brolin said while speaking of Trump’s business endeavors. He told the outlet he found Trump’s decision to build an expensive hotel “in the middle of a cesspool city during the late ’70s” intriguing, referring to New York City.

 “That’s interesting to me,” he continued, adding, “Now it’s power unmitigated, it’s unregulated.”

Brolin went on to praise what he considers Trump’s talent for marketing.

“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,” the No Country for Old Men star said.

Brolin, who is currently starring in the third installment of the Knives Out franchise, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, also addressed speculation that he modeled his most recent character, Monsignor Wicks — a power-hungry and divisive religious figure — after the current president.

“I could make something up and say it was rooted in a kind of Trumpian greed,” he said, before clarifying that Trump was not his inspiration for the character.