Tom Pelphrey Reveals What It Was Really Like Working With Josh Brolin On Outer Range - Exclusive

On the surface, "Outer Range" may seem like a ranch drama à la "Yellowstone," but after diving into the first episode, it's obvious that it's so much more. With shades of "Lost" and "Twin Peaks," the mind-bending sci-fi series, which is available on Prime Video, involves murder, a missing woman, and a giant mystery hole that magically appears on the Abbott family ranch.

Josh Brolin plays patriarch Royal Abbott, who's the one who discovers the hole — and subsequently uses it to dispose of a neighbor's body in order to protect his sons. As son Perry, Tom Pelphrey is a man in deep emotional crisis because his wife has been missing for nine months. Together, along with Lili Taylor, Lewis Pullman, and Imogen Poots, Brolin and Pelphrey create a tense father-son bond that leaps off the screen.

It's a relationship that's very special to Pelphrey, who revealed in an exclusive interview with Looper what it's like to work so closely with a living legend like Brolin.

Josh Brolin — the son of the equally legendary James Brolin — got his start in the 1985 film "The Goonies" but slowly built up his career to include more serious fare, such as "No Country for Old Men" and "Milk," which earned him an Academy Award nomination, while also starring in the blockbuster "Avengers" franchise. When asked what it's like to have Brolin as his dad on "Outer Range," Tom Pelphrey immediately told a funny tale.

"When I first got the job," he said, "we met over FaceTime or something, and he was like, 'How old are you?' I told him. I think I was 38 at the time, and he grimaced. Then he meets me in person and he's like, 'How tall are you?' I was like, 'Six foot two.' He grimaces again and he's like, 'All right, you're adopted. You're too old or you're too tall to be my son.'"

But all joking aside, Pelphrey has nothing but good things to say about his "Outer Range" co-star. "I love him so much. He's my dude. He's such an amazing guy," Pelphrey said. "He's a very special human being ... He's been a dear friend and an actor that I've looked up to for a long time. He's excellent to work with."

Pelphrey believes Brolin was "born to be in shows like this. I mean, that guy gets on a horse and moves with that animal like most people would ride a bike. It's so natural. It's so easy for him. When I watch the show, I'm like, 'Damn, Josh looks like he was f***ing born with a cowboy hat on his head' ... I look at [him] with the cowboy hat and say, 'This is how it was always meant to be.'"

But Pelphrey didn't stop there. "Personally, as a fan of his over the years, when I watch the show, I honestly think this is his best work I've seen in years," he said. "I think this is a really special project for him and a really perfect role. He knocked it out of the park."

All eight episodes of "Outer Range" are now available on Prime Video.