Josh Brolin doesn’t know ‘what the f— he got himself into’ with Peter Thiel’s secret society

Key Points

• Josh Brolin is confused why his name appears in a collection of leaked documents identifying individuals affiliated with a secret society cofounded by Peter Thiel.

• A spokesperson for Brolin told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor would “like to know what the f— he got himself into” when reached for comment.

• WIRED published the original report, which details panels at an upcoming Dialog forum with titles like “Build-a-Cult” and “Navigating WWIII.”

Josh Brolin is as confused as you are about his alleged association with Peter Thiel.

The Oscar-nominated actor’s name was among a throng that surfaced on Wednesday when The Hollywood Reporter dug into materials first uncovered by WIRED relating to Dialog, a secretive, invite-only society cofounded by the powerful tech executive in 2006.

The group’s membership directory and documents pertaining to an upcoming forum it’s sponsoring near Dublin in August were dominated by names from the realms of politics and technology. However, several entertainment industry vets appeared in the cache as well. Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sophia Bush, and record executive Scooter Braun were also among those whose names appeared in the documents.

Gordon-Levitt has since gone public with a considered explanation, but Brolin delivered a characteristically blunt reply, when a representative for the actor told THR he’d “like to know what the f— he got himself into.”

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Brolin, Gordon-Levitt, Bush, and Braun for comment.

The internal records were first obtained by maia arson crimew, a Swiss hacker and activist. Crimew is known for having made public an extensive U.S. no-fly list in 2023. The hacker told WIRED that they became aware of the publicly surfaced directory via an anonymous tip. The outlet was then able to independently verify its contents, and obtained the registration list for Dialog’s 2026 retreat from a separate source.

According to documents reviewed by THR, Brolin was nominated to join Dialog by Uber CEO Ryan Graves.

“I grew up on a horse farm, climbed parts of Everest, given academy awards, been nominated, written a book, had former Poet laureates reach out, been friends with the greatest artists of our time and smoked crack under a car at 3 a.m. in San Francisco,” the actor allegedly wrote in his application. His internal review resulted in a score of C.

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Dialog has remained secretive since its cofounding in 2006 by Thiel, the conservative political activist and venture capitalist behind the influential company Palantir Technologies, and Auren Hoffman, the entrepreneur behind SafeGraph, a data surveillance company. The group does not have a website, and has never publicly revealed one of its own members.

Dialog allegedly consists primarily of officials in government, titans of Silicon Valley, and wealthy business moguls. The retreat this year, scheduled for Aug. 12-16, includes sessions with titles like “Bring Back Nuclear,” “How’s Your Sex Life,” and “Build-a-Cult.”

Gordon-Levitt offered a lengthy explanation for his involvement in the group, which he confirmed in a post shared to his Instagram on Thursday.

“I have been to two Dialog conferences. But, I do not know Peter Thiel. I’ve never met him. I’ve never spoken with him or his representatives. I’ve never seen him at an event. From what l’ve read about his views, we are political and ideological opposites,” he wrote.

“Over the last couple of years, I’ve been focused on trying to make a positive impact on how the future unfolds, especially when it comes to tech and Al,” he continued. “Part of that work means forming relationships with all kinds of people, trying to understand their perspective, and trying to get them to understand mine. Sometimes it’s productive to engage with those we oppose.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly