Adrien Brody Biography

Actor. Born April 14, 1973 in New York City. The son of Hungarian-born photojournalist Sylvia Plachy, Brody accompanied his mother on assignments for the Village Voice and credits her with making him feel comfortable in front of the camera. He attended New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of 12 and the High School for the Performing Arts.

Early in his career, Brody appeared in lesser-seen films that earned him critical praise but failed to put him in the public spotlight, such as Steven Soderbergh's 1993 drama King of the Hill, 1994's Angels in the Outfield and 1997's The Last Time I Committed Suicide. Despite a strong performance in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line in 1988, many of Brody’s scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.

Brody showed promise once again in 1999 as punk rocker Ritchie in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam, but didn't receive true stardom until three years later when Roman Polanski cast him in The Pianist (2002). Starring as a celebrated Jewish pianist in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Brody drew on the heritage (and rare dialect) of his Polish grandmother for the part, earning a Best Actor Oscar for his performance. At age 29, Adrien Brody was the youngest Academy Award winner to date for Best Actor. Recent projects include co-starring in M. Night Shyamalan's thriller The Woods.

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