In 1989, he had a small role in Dream a Little Dream (1989), but he wanted more. As a teenager, he would go to a manager’s office to read breakdowns for films in production, trying to find opportunities.
That effort eventually connected him with director Oliver Stone, who was making Born on the Fourth of July, starring Tom Cruise. Josh pushed for a meeting.
“At the time I just knew [Oliver Stone] from Platoon. He was making a movie with Tom Cruise and there was a role for the little brother. I wanted to play that part, so he got me a meeting with Oliver Stone,” Josh Evans recalled.
“When I sat with him, Oliver asked ‘Oh, you think you look like Tom Cruise?’. Now knowing him, I realize he was mocking me, but I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ So, he said, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ Four months later, I got a call to audition and I got the part. It was very exciting and you could feel how special that movie was going to be.”
Josh later appeared in The Doors (1991) and continued working both in front of and behind the camera. With eight films as a director, he also worked with Michael Madsen, who starred in Josh’s 2015 film Death in the Desert.
“I am definitely more comfortable on the side of the camera that does not show myself,” Josh Evans said.
“If an interesting opportunity presents itself, I am not opposed to it. I think there are other people out there who are more qualified and want it more than I do. As far as directing and telling my stories, I would do that for free, whereas acting is more of a job, but I enjoy it once I do it.”
Later family milestones
In 2019, Josh’s father—Ali’s ex-husband—Robert Evans died. The family also shared an earlier milestone when Evans received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.
Josh has been married twice. In October 2012, he married American singer and musician Roxy Saint. By then, their son Jackson was two years old, and Ali has spoken warmly about how much she loves being with her family.
— roxysaint (@roxysaint) October 30, 2019
“He’s so wonderful,” MacGraw said about her son. “He’s my favorite human being on the planet, and he goes out with a girl I’m nuts about. Their relationship is so much about, among other things, friendship and respect.”
From early hardship to sudden fame, personal turmoil, and eventual reinvention, Ali MacGraw’s story is one of transformation. Today, she lives far from Hollywood’s noise, grounded in community and creativity—while her son continues the family’s legacy in film.
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