Adrien Brody
By Rita Cook
What are some of the more interesting facts about Adrien Brody? Could it be that he’s the only actor to ever win a Best Actor Oscar up against four previous Oscar winners, or that in 2003, he replaced Richard Dreyfuss as the youngest actor to ever win the Best Actor Award (The Pianist)? Or that as a child, he did magic shows at children’s birthday parties and that he owns a Hummer? Well, that would be a good start, but in fact, he just keeps adding up the interesting facts. Somewhat private, Brody appreciates the fact that he is recognized not as just a face, but as an actor with a good body of work behind him.
He has been in 29 films since he began his career, from The Thin Red Line, in which most of his part was edited out, to The Jacket, to Harrison’s Flowers to, of course, The Pianist. His next film is one that audiences are eagerly anticipating. In King Kong, his character is a playwright named Jack Driscoll. Brody says he likes the role and was very honored that the “powers that be” thought of him for it.
SOAK: Tell me about your role in King Kong, did you enjoy the experience?
Adrien Brody: Oh yes I did, immensely. It was one of those rare opportunities to have a very well-written, heroic, romantic leading role and there aren’t many out there. I have not had too many opportunities to do that, so it was for me a wonderful experience.
SOAK: How did you end up getting this opportunity?
Adrien: Peter [Jackson] and Fran [Walsh] had seen me in other things…and it is a period piece and I have done a lot of work in different periods; they felt that I had the right physicality for the role. It’s not someone who is neces-sarily overtly muscular, but who could handle his own. I am honored that they thought of me for the role.
SOAK: What’s different in this remake?
Adrien: Oh, a lot of things have changed. It is structured similarly to the original, but it’s a whole different movie. My character, for instance, in the original is just a first-mate of the ship and a pretty gruff man, and the character I play now is a playwright who has been hired to write the screenplay for this film, and is more intelligent and a little more sensitive human being than the original. There’s more likelihood of a relationship developing between Ann and my character.
SOAK: Did you find any challenges with this role, or was it pretty easy compared to all the roles you’ve done in the past?
Adrien: On some levels it was a lot easier, emotionally and psychologically easier than what I had to deal with, say in films like, The Jacket and The Pianist. It was physically challenging and it is also pretty complicated to constantly interact with scenarios that don’t necessarily exist and aren’t existing as you’re experiencing them. All of this comes into play after I’m done using green screen situations. I am interacting and running from dinosaurs that aren’t there and you know, you have to approach it with a level of sincerity, and it’s harder than you think.
SOAK: What do you look for when picking a project?
Adrien: It’s hard to say, when I read something… and it also has to do with having a script to read, because in this case there was no script and I accepted the role before the script was done. I had a tremendous amount of faith in Peter’s ability, and I knew that it was based on the original and I loved that story. It just sounded very exciting. It was really a no-brainer. Often though [when picking material], it’s material that is different than something that I have done in the past, or something that would inspire me and give me an opportunity to grow in some way. I always look for new challenges and I try not to repeat types of roles or characters too often.
SOAK: What do you think has been the big turning point in your career?
Adrien: There have been a few. Definitely The Pianist was a major turning point for me as far as getting recognition as an actor and having an opportunity of a role to play in a film of that nature and depth. It was a pretty remarkable experience for me on many levels, talking a lot about life and history, and it made me more thankful for my own good fortune, being so closely connected to such a grim time in our history.
SOAK: Where did you grow up in New York?
Adrien: We lived in Queens and I went to the Performing Arts High School, which was in the city.
SOAK: So you had a yard?
Adrien: We did have a yard and we still do, because my parents are still there [laughs]. It wasn’t huge, but it was a yard.
SOAK: What do you do for fun?
Adrien: These days, I’m really appreciating my time with my friends, my girl and my dog. I’ve been away for quite some time, and I spent almost nine months in New Zealand this year doing King Kong. I was away from just about everybody during most of that time and it really made me miss everyone. It’s just good to be home, it feels good to be back and to be able to see people when I like to see them. I’m taking some time off now besides the press that I have to do.
SOAK: Do you like doing press or is it just one of those things that’s a necessary evil?
Adrien: It depends, you’re catching me at the end of the day and I’ve been doing this all day. I do like some aspects of it. I like to be able to express what it is that moves me and why I make certain choices in life. All these things that are relevant. For me, it’s interesting because as I verbalize it, I get a better understanding of my own thought process and what it is that makes me make the choices that I make.
SOAK: Are you mostly a private person?
Adrien: I am relatively private. I’m not secretive, but I think some things are not for public consumption.
SOAK: If you weren’t an actor, what would you be doing?
Adrien: When I was very young, I wanted to be a space scientist, but my math scores were too low. I contemplated being a fireman and I also contemplated selling cars.
SOAK: Did you ever try selling cars?
Adrien: I used to sell my cars when I was a teenager. I would buy my cars, then get tired of them and sell them, and my dad always said, well, you can always be a used car salesman if it doesn’t work out [laughs].
SOAK: What was your first car?
Adrien: I had a ‘76 Volvo that I bought for $50, and it didn’t go in reverse and it didn’t have mufflers. I put racing mufflers on it and I would have to push it into parking spots. I gave it to a friend of my parents after having it for eight months or so, and they put a transmission in it so that it would go in reverse, and they had it for two years.
SOAK: Within the next three years, what do you want to do that you haven’t done yet?
Adrien: That’s a good question, and I should be asking myself that question. Three years is not that much time in reality, and I would like to continue to work as an actor and find interesting projects. I would like to direct, but not necessarily within three years. I would within three years somehow like to get my music started in a professional sense.
SOAK: What kind of music?
Adrien: I’ve been making music for about nine years and it’s more structured in hip hop roots, but it is the music, so it’s beat production with more melodic undertones. It’s kind of a Massive Attack vibe. It’s broad range, but all structured in a kind of sequence music. I would like to work with a songwriter and female vocalist and get it going by then, but there is rarely time to do it.
SOAK: What are you working on now?
Adrien: Truth, Justice I shot already, and that was a 50’s Hollywood detective story with Ben Affleck and Diane Lane. I think it will be an interesting film. I’m going to take a break for the rest of the year and we’ll see what happens next year.
SOAK: You have a long resume for being so young.
Adrien: I was 13 when I started acting.
SOAK: Did you just decide to be an actor?
Adrien: My mom actually had an assignment to photograph an acting school in New York and she just had the insight, mother’s intuition, to know that I would enjoy it, and the rest is history.
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