Adrien Brody Biography

Adrien Brody Trivia

• Attended American Academy of Dramatic Arts and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York.
• His mother is the Hungarian-born photojournalist Sylvia Plachy.
• Is the only actor to win a Best Actor Oscar when nominated alongside four previous Oscar winners.
• In 2003, at the age of 29, he replaced Richard Dreyfuss as the youngest actor ever to win the Best Actor Academy Award, for his role in "The Pianist".
• Has great appreciation for hip-hop. Like Beatnuts, one of his favorite groups, Brody is also from Queens.
• Performed magic shows at children's birthdays as a child, as 'The Amazing Adrien'.
• In 2004, Esquire Magazine named him the Best Dressed Man in America.
• Owned and drove a 'Hummer', which is famous in Hollywood for being Arnold Schwartzenegger's favorite vehicle. It did ten miles per gallon, and was originally designed for warfare.
• Was considered for a role in Pearl Harbor (2001)
• Was dressed by Zegna for the Academy Awards.
• Is a big hip-hop fan and plans on becoming a producer. He is being mentored by RZA.
• Ranked #21 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties.
• Has a chihuahua called Ceelo.
• His father, Elliot Brody, is a retired history teacher of Polish-Jewish descent who lost family members in the Holocaust. His mother Sylvia Plachy, the renown photographer, fled Communist Hungary as a child during the 1956 revolution against Russia.
• Taking acting classes as a youth, by age 13 he had done an off-Broadway play and a PBS-TV-movie.
• In 1992, he was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in which he flew over a car and crashed feet-first into a crosswalk. He spent months recuperating.
• To prepare for his title role in "The Pianist," he learned to play Chopin on the piano and shed 30 pounds off his already-thin frame. He cut himself off from his real life and gave up his car and apartment because he felt responsible to those Polish Jews who had suffered and wanted to connect with their hurt and despair.
• Shares a birthday with Sarah Michelle Gellar.
• Admits a shot of his parents in a passionate, back-bending embrace inspired his famous kiss with Halle Berry at the Oscars.
• Is the only American actor to win a Cesar, the French equivalent to the Oscar.
• Has been compared to Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino for his unconventional acting skills and unique looks.
• Did sessions in an isolation tank, performed prison exercises, and went on a protein diet for his role in "The Jacket".
• He was furious when his nose was broken during the final fight in "Summer of Sam", but when he had it fixed, he didn't change it. That nose is now Brody's most identifying feature and sets him apart from other actors.
• Share a birthday with fellow Academy Award winner Julie Christie.
• Close friends with Asia Argento and Benicio Del Toro.
• Adrien hosted Saturday Night Live on 10 May 2003 and came out in full Rastafarian attire to introduce the night's musical guest Sean Paul. Speaking in a Jamaican accent, he carried on for a full minute before finally bringing on Paul. While the skit was funny, Brody did not obtain clearance to perform such a scene. Because of this, Lorne Michaels (who is notorious for hating unscripted, unannounced, and improvised performances) banned Brody from ever appearing on the show again.