Adrien Brody biography

Synopsis

Actor Adrien Brody was born April 14, 1973, in New York City. Early in his career, Brody appeared in lesser-seen films that earned him critical praise but failed to put him in the public spotlight. Brody showed promise once again in 1999 in Summer of Sam, but didn't receive true stardom until three years later, when Roman Polanski cast him in The Pianist (2002), for which he won an Academy Award for best actor in 2003.

Younger Years

Adrien Brody was 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 went on to attend the High School for the Performing Arts.

Early Career

Early in his career, Adrien 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.

Acclaimed Actor

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, and won an Academy Award for best actor for his performance. At age 29, Adrien Brody became the youngest Academy Award winner for best actor.

More recently, Brody co-starred in M. Night Shyamalan's thriller The Woods.