11.03.2025
While some might say Adrien Brody, who has won two Oscars for Best Actor, his success is owed not to his charisma but from intensely detailed preparation he puts into complex roles, sometimes at the expense of his personal life.
Yes, his face is not conventionally symmetrical. Yes, he is thin. Yes, he has a big nose. Yes, his eyes and eyebrows seem like they might drop to the ground. But Adrien Brody is a talented and charismatic actor who should be judged not by his appearance but by his depth and substance…
Adrien Brody recently won his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Brutalist (2024). He had previously won the same Oscar 23 years ago for The Pianist (2002), directed by Roman Polanski, making him the youngest winner in this category at the time (he was 29). Now, he has become only the second actor to win this award twice. Doesn’t such a rare achievement make him worth getting to know better?
A Life That Began in Queens
Adrien Nicholas Brody was born on April 14, 1973, in Queens, New York, into a family passionate about art and history. His mother, Sylvia Plachy, was a photographer, and his father, Elliot Brody, was a history professor and a painter. Elliot was a Polish Jew who immigrated to the United States, while Sylvia was born in Budapest to a Czech Jewish mother and a Catholic Hungarian aristocrat father and was raised Catholic. Adrien Brody, however, was brought up without strong ties to either Judaism or Christianity.
Adrien Brody always had a desire to be on stage. From a young age, he loved being in the spotlight and putting on a show. This led him to become a magician. As a child, he performed magic tricks at kids’ birthday parties under the name “The Amazing Adrien.” Even today, he remains interested in magic.
He attended Joseph Pulitzer Middle School and later Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York. Every summer, he participated in the Long Lake Arts Camp in the Adirondacks. Before briefly transferring to Queens College, he studied at Stony Brook University.
Acting from a Young Age
He was one of those lucky individuals who figured out early in life what they wanted to do. Although he briefly pursued magic, he never neglected taking acting lessons to start his career as a child actor. At the age of thirteen, he performed in an Off-Broadway play and appeared in a PBS television film. He loved the stage, and the stage loved him back. Yes, he was fortunate; he worked with great names and took part in remarkable projects. However, he also narrowly missed out on some major roles—such as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, where he was considered for the role of the Joker…
Great Sacrifices for His Role
After starring alongside Tupac Shakur and Mickey Rourke in Bullet (1996), nothing could stop Brody. His performance in Restaurant (1998) earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and he later gained praise for his roles in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam and Terrence Malick’s the Thin Red Line. Interestingly, he owes his famously large and uneven nose to Summer of Sam—where he broke it during filming, turning it into a defining feature of his appearance.
For The Pianist, the film that brought him his first Oscar and marked a turning point in his career, he prepared with the discipline of an ascetic. While training for the role, he abandoned his home and car and ended his relationship with his girlfriend. He isolated himself for months, practicing piano for four hours a day until he mastered Chopin’s finest compositions. To fully embody the role, he lost 14 kg, dropping to 59 kg, transforming his tall 1.85-meter frame into an extremely gaunt figure. He became so immersed in the character that he spent the following year battling severe depression and grief. For the same role, he also won a César Award. It is said that although he was nominated for many prestigious awards, he didn’t win them simply because he already had an Oscar.
Adrien Brody’s remarkable acting career includes his portrayal of the legendary painter Salvador Dalí in Woody Allen’s Academy Award-winning Midnight in Paris (2011). Among his other significant film roles are The Village (2004), King Kong (2005), and Predators (2010), for which he had to gain 14 kilograms. One of his most acclaimed performances came in Detachment (2011). He also worked with Wes Anderson on four films: The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and The French Dispatch (2020).
His role as Hungarian Jewish architect László Tóth in The Brutalist, which won him his second Oscar, required significant dedication and effort in preparation.
The Return Kiss
Adrien Brody is among Hollywood’s most respected actors, known for his deep commitment to complex roles. But acting isn’t his only talent—he has also pursued magic and painting for years. He has modeled for luxury brands, inspired fashion collections, and was once named America’s most stylish man. In the entertainment industry, he has taken on roles beyond acting, stepping into directing and producing as well.
One of the most unforgettable moments in Oscar history was when Adrien Brody unexpectedly kissed Halle Berry on stage before accepting his first Oscar. This year, the scene was recreated—but with a twist: this time, Halle Berry was the one initiating the kiss, and before doing so, she would first seek permission from the actor’s spouse.