Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and producer.
Brody grew up in Queens, New York City. His mother is Sylvia Plachy, a renowned Hungarian photographer who Brody credits with making him comfortable being in front of the camera. Brody remained on the cusp of stardom for many years until he was launched into recognition with Roman Polański's 2002 film, The Pianist, a biopic of Polish Jewish pianist Władysław Szpilman, who survived The Holocaust during World War II. The Pianist earned him much critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Actor, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA award. Brody holds the distinction of being the youngest ever winner of the Best Actor Oscar at age 29, and the only American to ever win a Cesar, the French equivalent to an Oscar.
Brody is known for his unconventional looks and even more unconventional roles, appearing in such films as The Thin Red Line, Predators, The Brothers Bloom, The Darjeeling Limited, Summer of Sam, King Kong (2005), The Village, The Jacket, Hollywoodland, and Splice, and he has worked with such directors as M. Night Shyamalan, Terrence Malick, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, Dario Argento, Woody Allen, Peter Jackson, Rian Johnson and Steven Soderbergh. He has also appeared in commercials for Diet Coke, Schweppes, Stella Artois and Gillette razors.
He also went on a "quest"
, of which the actor said he was shown it from his father and found it hilarious, even using it as his ringtone for a while.
Not related to Adam Brody.
Filmography
- New York Stories (1989) as Mel
- Angels in the Outfield (1994) as Danny Hemmerling
- Bullet (1996) as Ruby Stein
- The Thin Red Line (1998) as Cp. Geoffrey Fife
- Summer of Sam (1999) as Ritchie
- Liberty Heights (1999) as Van Kurtzman
- The Affair of the Necklace (2001) as Nicolas de la Motte
- Dummy (2002) as Steven Schoichet
- The Pianist (2002) as Władysław Szpilman
- The Singing Detective (2003) as First Hood
- The Village (2004) as Noah Percy
- The Jacket (2005) as Jack Starks
- King Kong (2005) as Jack Driscoll
- Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005, voice)
- Hollywoodland (2006) as Louis Simo
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007) as Peter
- The Brothers Bloom (2008) as Bloom Bloom
- Splice (2009) as Clive Nicoli
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) as Field Mouse (voice)
- High School (2010) as Psycho Ed
- Predators (2010) as Royce
- The Experiment (2010) as Travis Cacksmackberg
- Midnight in Paris (2011) as Salvador Dalí
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) as Dmitri Desgoffe-und-Taxis
- Houdini (2014) as Harry Houdini
- Peaky Blinders (2017) as Luca Changretta
- The French Dispatch (2021) as Julien Cadazio
- Succession (2021) as Josh Aaronson
- Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022) as Pat Riley
- See How They Run (2022) as Leo Köpernick
- Blonde (2022) as Arthur Miller
- Poker Face (2023) as Sterling Frost Jr.
- Ghosted (2023) as Leveque
- Asteroid City (2023) as Schubert Green
Tropes:
- Gag Nose: His large, angular hooter is a major contributor to his distinctive appearance.
- Large Ham: When given the opportunity, he will really ham it up.
- Method Acting: He's famous for going all out in his roles. For The Pianist, he not only lost considerable weight from his already skinny frame but broke up with his girlfriend and sold his apartment and all his possessions to feel the same sense of loss.
- Persona Non Grata: He's been banned from hosting Saturday Night Live because he improvised an introduction for musical guest Sean Paul in which he was dressed in dreadlocks and rambled in a Jamaican accent. While most viewers did consider this the high point of the episode, Lorne Michaels' Berserk Button for guests is doing a bit without his express permission.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He's just over six feet tall with wavy dark hair and is quite handsome.
