DirectorRoman Polanski, impressed by Brody's work inHarrison's Flowers (2000), cast him the lead role inThe Pianist (2002).[21] To prepare for the role, Brody withdrew from public life for months, gave up his apartment and his car, and took piano lessons for four hours a day until he could master passages from some ofChopin's finest works.[17] At 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall, he lost 30 pounds (14 kg), dropping him to 130 lb (59 kg). The role won him anAcademy Award for Best Actor, making him, at age twenty-nine,the youngest actor ever to win the award, and, to date, the only winner under the age of thirty. He also won aCésar Award for his performance.[22] The role also earned him Best Actor nominations at theBAFTA,Golden Globes, andSAG Awards; Brody did not win any of these prizes, making him one of few actors to win an Oscar and no major precursor awards for a performance.
AfterThe Pianist, Brody appeared in four distinctively different films. InDummy (released in 2003, but originally shot in 2000, just prior to his work inThe Pianist), he portrayed Steven Schoichet, a socially awkward aspiring ventriloquist in pursuit of a love interest (his employment counsellor, played byVera Farmiga). He learned ventriloquism and puppetry for the role (under the tutelage of actor and 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 filmThe Village, byM. Night Shyamalan, shell-shocked war veteran Jack Starks inThe Jacket, writerJack Driscoll in the 2005King Kong remake, and father-to-be Peter Whitman inThe Darjeeling Limited byWes 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, financially. He reprised his role voicing Driscoll in thevideo game adaptation of the film. Additionally, Brody played a detective inHollywoodland. He has also appeared inDiet Coke andSchweppes commercials, as well asTori Amos' music video for "A Sorta Fairytale".[23]
In 2011, Brody starred in aStella Artois beer commercial called "Crying Jean" that premiered right after half-time ofSuper Bowl XLV as part of Stella's "She Is a Thing of Beauty" campaign. He appeared inWoody Allen's 2011 Academy Award-winning comedy,Midnight in Paris asSalvador Dalí.[29] On January 16, 2012, Brody made his debut as arunway model forPrada Men Fall/Winter 2012 show.[30]
In 2015, he starred asTiberius in theChinese filmDragon Blade, which grossed $54.8 million in its opening week in China.[36] He also received the Cinema Vanguard award at theSan Diego Film Festival the same year.[37] In 2017, it was announced that he would join the cast of the fourth season of the BBC crime dramaPeaky Blinders.[38] On August 4, 2017, he received the Leopard Club Award at theLocarno Festival.[39] The Leopard Club Award pays homage to a major film personality whose work has made a lasting impact on the collective imagination. In 2019, Brody left Paradigm to sign with CAACreative Artists Agency.[40] In 2021, he received the Vanguard Award atSCAD's Savannah Film Festival.[41]
In 1992, Brody was seriously injured in a motorcycle collision, in which he was thrown over a car and crashed headfirst into acrosswalk.[48] He spent months recuperating. He has broken his nose three times doing stunts, including during the filming ofSummer of Sam.[49] Brody lived in Los Angeles during his early career and now is based in Manhattan.
It was reported in 2024 that Brody sufferspost-traumatic stress disorder from the extreme weight loss he endured forThe Pianist in 2002.[51]
In 2010, Brody sued makers of the filmGiallo, alleging they failed to pay his full salary.[52][53] In January 2011 it was reported that Brody had reached a settlement with the producers. He said, "I very much enjoyed the process of makingGiallo and am happy that things have been resolved and that people can now enjoy seeing the film."[54]
Brody began dating Spanish actress and modelElsa Pataky in 2006. For her 31st birthday, in July 2007, he purchased for heran early 20th-century farm incentralNew York State, which had been designed to look like acastle. Brody and Pataky were featured at their New York home in a 35-page spread forHELLO! magazine in October 2008.[55] The pair broke up in 2009.[56]
For six years, Brody was in a relationship with Russian model Lara Lieto, after meeting at theCannes Film Festival in 2012.[57]
In February 2020, it was reported that he was romantically involved with English fashion designer and actressGeorgina Chapman, whom he began dating while she was still married to, but formally separated from,Harvey Weinstein.[58]
At the75th Academy Awards in 2003, Brody became the subject of significant attention while receiving his Best Actor Oscar forThe Pianist when he passionately kissed the presenter, actressHalle Berry.[59] The kiss was widely viewed as the 2003 Oscars' signature moment.[60][a] While Berry was surprised, she has since said she was proud to be a part of his big moment, called the kiss "great" in the week after the ceremony,[63] and had been waiting to recreate it throughout the years if they crossed paths at an awards show.[64] The following year, as Brody presented Best Actress at the76th Academy Awards, Brody joked about the kiss usingbreath spray before announcingCharlize Theron, who eventually kissed Brody on the way to the stage.[65] When announcing the nominees for the77th Academy Awards, Brody came on stage and jokingly leaned in to kiss Academy presidentFrank Pierson, which Pierson rejected.
In January 2025, Berry congratulated Brody on his Instagram for winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance inThe Brutalist. "Congratulations my friend. You are truly one of one!"[66] On the97th Academy Awards red carpet, Berry ran over and passionately kissed Brody in a reprise of the moment from twenty-two years before.[64] His girlfriend,Georgina Chapman, had given Berry permission prior to it and celebrated the moment with them.[67]
^Weinraub, Bernard (December 7, 1998). "Woodhaven to Hollywood: Pivotal Point on the Road; Is the Busy Adrien Brody Headed for Stardom?".New York Times. p. E1.ProQuest109940179.His father took a leave from his teaching job and found an apartment in Beverly Hills, so Adrien could attend high school there. [...] But the show failed, and Adrien returned to New York to graduate from La Guardia High School. He enrolled at the State University of New York at Stony Brook for a year, but it was too far to travel to New York auditions, so he switched to Queens College. He dropped out after a semester to move to Los Angeles.
^Over time, views have changed to point out that the kiss probably wasn't consensual toward Berry as she wasn't aware that he would do it, though Berry herself has never explicitly said she didn't consent. In a 2017 interview onWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen she said she willingly went with it understanding the emotions of the moment.[61] Weeks before the 97th Academy Awards, Brody acknowledged that modern views have changed and that he had never intended to offend Berry.[62]
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