Josh Brolin has opened up about his former friendship with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In an interview for The Independent, the Oscar-nominated actor recounted how he met the American leader on the set of the 2010 drama, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Trump had a cameo in the film, but it was ultimately cut from the final version.

"I'm not scared of Trump, because even though he says he's staying forever, it's just not going to happen," the 57-year-old told the outlet of Trump's claim that he would run for the presidency for a third term despite the Twenty-Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbidding it. "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."

Brolin didn't delve into his current thoughts on Trump's administration.

However, the Dune star noted that he had been impressed with the way the real estate developer converted the Grand Hyatt New York in partnership with Hyatt bosses in the late 1970s.

"(Trump did that) in the middle of a cesspool city during the late '70s - that's interesting to me. Now it's power unmitigated, it's unregulated," he continued. "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."

Trump has not yet responded to Brolin's comments.

The actor is currently promoting his latest project, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which is showing in select cinemas and will stream via Netflix on 12 December.