- Name: Adrien Nicholas Brody
- Born: April 14, 1973
- City: Woodhaven, Queens, New York. US
- Occupation: Actor, Producer, Artist
- Height: 6′ 1″ (1,85 m)
Adrien Nicholas Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York. The only child of retired history professor and painter Elliot Brody and Hungarian-born photographer Sylvia Plachy. He accompanied his mother on assignments for the Village Voice, and credits her with making him feel comfortable in front of the camera.
In his childhood Adrien Brody performed magic shows at children’s birthday parties as “The Amazing Adrien”. His parents enrolled him in acting classes to distract him from the dangerous people who might exist in the neighborhood where they lived.
The actor commented on his childhood and adolescence during the ceremony of the campaign Save the children 2015:
“I’m a product of public schools. My father is a public school teacher… Without his guidance, I wouldn’t be here today,” confessed the star and newly appointed Bulgari ambassador at a press conference preceding the party. “I wouldn’t have the confidence to speak my mind… I would not have the strength to commit to the roles I have, to believe in myself in this business, which is a very competitive business.”
“I grew up in a working class neighborhood,” he continued, captivating the room with his candidness about his modest Queens upbringing. “And I’ve witnessed the effects of poverty and lack of education and lack of guidance, which falls under the same category, and (I saw) friends of mine who did not have the self-confidence at the end of the day and did not have the encouragement and who did not pursue those dreams.”
He attended the I.S. 145 Joseph Pulitzer middle school, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York. After attended Stony Brook University before transferring to Queens College for a semester.
He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist (2002). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29, the only actor under 30. Brody is also the only male American actor to receive the French César Award.
The actor also has his own production company called Fable House.
» Career
Taking acting classes at thirteen, he appeared in an Off-Broadway play and a PBS television film. Adrien Brody hovered on the brink of stardom, receiving an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his role in the 1998 film Restaurant and later praise for his roles in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam and Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. He received widespread recognition when he was cast as the lead in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist (2002). To prepare for the role, Brody withdrew for months, gave up his apartment and his car, broke up with his then-girlfriend, learned how to play Chopin on the piano, and lost 29 lbs (13 kg). The role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor, making him, at 29, the youngest actor ever to win the award, and to date the only winner under the age of 30. He also won a César Award for his performance. He pulled off a brilliant performance in The Pianist (2002), drawing on the heritage and rare dialect of his Polish grandmother, as well as his father, who lost family members during the Holocaust, and his mother, who fled Communist Hungary as a child during the 1956 uprising against the Soviet Union.
After The Pianist Brody appeared in different films. In Dummy (released in 2003 but originally shot in 2000, just prior to his work in The Pianist) he portrayed Steven Schoichet, a socially awkward aspiring ventriloquist in pursuit of a love interest (his employment counsellor). He learned ventriloquism and puppetry for the role (under the tutelage of actor/ventriloquist Alan Semok) convincingly enough to perform all of the voice stunts and puppet manipulation live on set in real time, with no subsequent post dubbing.
He played Noah Percy, a mentally disabled young man, in the film The Village, by M. Night Shyamalan, shell-shocked war veteran Jack Starks in The Jacket, writer Jack Driscoll in the 2005 King Kong remake, and father-to-be Peter Whitman in The Darjeeling Limited by Wes Anderson. King Kong was both a critical and box office success; it grossed $550 million worldwide and is Brody’s most successful film to date in monetary terms. Additionally, Brody played a detective in Hollywoodland.
-2008-
- He played Bloom in The Brothers Bloom and Leonard Chess in Cadillac Records.
- He has also appeared in Diet Coke and Schweppes commercials as well as Tori Amos’ music video for “A Sorta Fairytale”.
-2009-
- He starred in Splice, a science fiction film written and directed by Vincenzo Natali. Originally a Sundance film, Splice was adopted by Dark Castle Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros.
- Also played the star role of Royce in Predators (a sequel to the original Predator), directed by Nimród Antal and produced by Robert Rodriguez.
-2011-
- Starred in a Stella Artois beer ad called “Crying Jean” that premiered right after half-time of the Super Bowl XLV as part of Stella’s “She Is a Thing of Beauty” campaign.
- He appeared in Woody Allen’s 2011 Academy Award-winning comedy Midnight in Paris as Salvador Dalí. In Detachment he was a great and magistral teacher.
-2012-
- Brody made his debut as a runway model for Prada Men Fall/Winter 2012 show.
-2013-
- He participated in some films: InAPPropriate Comedy and Third Person.
-2014-
- He played the great magician Harry Houdini in the great History Channel mini serie, Houdini and is nominated for Best Actor at the Emmys 2015.
- Also Adrien Brody collaborated again with Wes Anderson in the Academy Award-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel, where he played the villain Dmitri. And starred American Heist movie.
-2015-
- He starred as Tiberius with Jackie Chan in the film Dragon Blade by Daniel Lee, which grossed $54.8 million on the opening premiere week in China. The actor receive a trophy for Best Supporting Actor for his acting in Dragon Blade movie at the Huading Awards 2015 in China.
- Also in 2015 he participate in the short films: Boredom, The library book, and The Mascot from JamesonFirstShot Site.
- Directs the short film The Dodge Brothers, produces the documentary Stone Barn Castle as director, producer and composer. Also Adrien Brody starred some films including: Emperor (Not premiere yet), Backtrack, Septembers of Shiraz and more.
- The actor received the ‘Cinema Vanguard Award’ in The Variety Night Of The Stars Tribute at the 2015 San Diego Film Festival on October 1, 2015 in San Diego California.
- The film Emperor is finalized and completed, but has not been released until today due to problems with the production company. Adrien Brody plays Emperor Charles V.
-2016-
- Adrien Brody starred Manhattan Nocturne by Brian DeCubellis, and appeared in a Dice (Tv Series) episode as himself.
- For Christmas he starred Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion a 2016 Short Film by the Director Wes Anderson.
-2017-
- The actor will participate in Bullet Head, Expiration, and the Tv serie ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 4 as the antagonist Luca Changretta.
- Received for his career and work ‘The Leopard Life Achievement Award’ at the Locarno Film Festival and the honor award “Excellence in Film” at the Cairo International Film Festival.
-2018-
- Colaborated in The Bombing movie as Steve.
- Presents his third work of art: “Metamorphosis: Transformations of the Soul” at the Art New York on May 4 – 6, 2018.
- Take part in the Epic Ride from amfAR on June, 2018 at the Life Ball in Vienna, Austria. The Life Ball is an annual charity event raising funds for HIV & AIDS projects.
- It is the new image of the collection Autumn/Winter of MANGO.
- Is part of the filming of Charlie Day’s El Tonto movie. (Release date not yet confirmed)
-2019-
- Participates in the film The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson. (release date: 2021)
- He participates in various causes and charity events such as The Snow Leopard Foundation, amfAR and Unicef in which he donates a painting made by himself.
- Begins his participation in the Netflix movie Blonde as Arthur Miller, one of Marilyn Monroe’s husbands. Release date: 2021.
-2020-
- Since January 2020 he starts filming for the series Jerusalem’s Lot” also known as Chapelwaite based on the book by Stephen King. (Release date not yet confirmed)
- The film Clean opens at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2020 with a little audience due to the Cov19 pandemic.
- Is announced his participation in the film The Salamander Lives Twice . (Release date not yet confirmed)
-2021-
- Take part in a new production of murders and mysteries playing the role of Leo Köpernick. Premiere in 2022.
- Adrien Brody stars as Pat Riley in the new HBO mini-series about the legendary basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Premiere in 2022.
» Awards & Nominations
- 1998: Independent Spirit Awards
Movie: Restaurant – Nominated: Best Lead Male Actor
- 2001: VFA Awards
Movie: Love The Hard Way – Won: Best Actor
- 2002: Academy Award || Boston Society of Film Critics Award || César Award || National Society of Film Critics Award
Movie: The Pianist – Won: Best Actor
- 2002: Bafta Award, European Film Award || Golden Globe Award || Screen Actor Guild Award || Chicago Film Critics Association Award || Online Film Critics Society Award || Polish Academy Award || Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award
Movie: The Pianist – Nominated: Best Actor
- 2008: Black Reel Award
Movie: Cadillac Records – Won: Best Ensemble Cast
- 2011: San Diego Film Critics Society || Phoenix Film Critics Society Award
Movie: Midnight in Paris – Nominated: Best Ensemble Acting
- 2011: Screen Actors Guild Award
Movie: Midnight in Paris – Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
- 2014: Screen Actors Guild Award
Movie: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
- 2014: Emmys Award || Screen Actors Guild Award
Mini Serie: Houdini – Nominated: Lead Actor in a limited Serie or a Movie
- 2015: Huading Awards
Movie: Dragon Blade – Won: Best Supporting Actor
- 2015: San Diego Film Festival
For his career – Won: The Cinema Vanguard Award
- 2017: Locarno Film Festival
For his career and work – Won: The Leopard Life Achievement Award
- 2017: Cairo International Film Festival
For his career and work – Won: the honor award “Excellence in Film”
» Charities & foundations supported
Adrien Brody has supported the following charities listed on this site:
- Artists for Peace and Justice
- Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes
- Hollywood Arts
- Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation
- NYCLASS
- Racing for Kids
- The Art of Elysium
- UNICEF
- PETA
- Save The Children
- amfAR
- G&T Continental Foundation
- The Guatemala National History Museum
- The Snow Leopard Foundation
- Life Ball
Details here.
» Causes supported
AIDS & HIV, Animals, At-Risk/Disadvantaged Youths, Art, Cancer, Children, Diabetes, Disaster Relief, Environment, Health, Human Rights, Miscellaneous, Poverty, Senior Citizen Support, Slavery & Human Trafficking.
» Art Work
Adrien Brody debuted with his first Art Series of pop art paintings titled “Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, and Handguns” at Lulu Laboratorium during the The Art Basel Miami Beach 2015. The pop-up show, which opens December 2, 2015 organized by Spanish-American artist and Brody’s friend, Domingo Zapata. (details here.).
His second Art series titled “Hooked” was presented at Art New York on May 3–8, 2016 in New York City (details here.).
On November 10-11, 2016 Adrien Brody present his second Art serie “Hooked” for the 1st time in China at the 2016 ART021 Shanghai Exhibition (details here.).
On May 4-6, 2018 Adrien Brody has unveiled his recent immersive art installation: “Metamorphosis: Transformations of the Soul’” at Art New York 2018. (Details here)
More details of Adrien Brody’s art here.
» Personal life
- Adrien Brody is accessible but also a bit reserved. He is a person without vices and is rarely involved in celebrity scandals.
- He is generally friendly to the press and his fans.
- When he travels or attends events, he often goes with his parents.
- Brody is a lover of art, nature and dogs. Helps various foundations. He currently has a dog named “chicken”, to choose that name he asked fans for suggestions on Instagram.
- He doesn’t use social media much. Instagram is the one he uses the most. He occasionally posts a photo of himself or his pets, while on twitter he rarely writes. The actor does not like to expose his day to day on social networks like other celebrities, so he uses them little and with caution.
- The actor had a long relationship with the Russian model, Lara Leito from approximately 2013 to 2018. According to the international press and close friends of those involved, the actor is currently in a relationship since mid-2019 with the fashion designer Georgina Chapman.
- The actor currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
(This biography has been compiled by AdrienBrody-Fansite from several pages like IMDb, wikipedia, looktothestars and additionally: the opinion and information of the fans who have known it and meet him. Thanks to everyone for contributing 🙂 )
Biography in Spanish: Lea la biografía en español –► here.
AdrienBrody-Fansite 