Life of pie – movie star turns caterer on set of latest film

The Hollywood star appears opposite Kate Winslet in the film about a single mother and her son who pick up a hitch-hiking escaped convict during the American public holiday.

Brolin, the 45-year-old son of actor James Brolin and stepson of Barbra Streisand, revealed that as a child he dreamed of becoming a chef, but his father wanted him to become a lawyer.

Speaking at a Press conference for the London Film Festival, he said: “I cook for everybody, I wanted to be a cook when I was a kid.

“But there were two things, my dad really was pushing me to be a lawyer – acting was really not on the cards – but I wanted to be a cook. So I cooked in a restaurant for three years.

“I like cooking very much. I cook for my kids all the time.

“I cooked pies for everyone, every day, I cooked many pies.”

Director Jason Reitman added “Some would say too many pies!”

Brolin joked: “If you watch the film, we gain more weight, every 15 minutes you see everybody a little bit heavier...”

Winslet’s character in the film is a terrible cook. Asked if she is any good at cooking in real life, she said: “It was acting, darling. It’s all acting.”

The 38-year-old actress, who is heavily pregnant with her third child, will walk the red carpet with Brolin and Reitman in Leicester Square this evening for the gala screening of the film as part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express.