Adrien Brody: the best movies and TV roles of the Oscar-nominated actor

He is an Academy Award-winning actor known for his versatility, intense performances, and commitment to complex roles. Adrien Brody's latest role in 'The Brutalist' may get him his second Oscar in 2025. But where have we seen this actor before?

Born in New York in 1973, the young actor first appeared on screen in 1988 as a teenage orphan who lived on the streets of Manhattan and got adopted by a Swedish family in Nebraska in the TV movie 'Home at Last'. Five years later, as seen in this image, the young actor was once again playing a troubled teen. This time, it was in the movie 'King of the Hill'.

As he turned 20, Brody had a minor role in 'Angels in the Outfield.' He was part of a star cast that included Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Danny Glover, Tony Danza, and Matthew McConaughey.

Photo: Walt Disney Pictures, Caravan Pictures

In 'Bullet,' Adrien Brody starred alongside Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur. He played Ruby Stein, the younger brother of the film’s main character, Butch 'Bullet' Stein (Mickey Rourke, photo). You can see Brody driving the car in this still from the movie.

In this dark comedy, Brody played Mario Bellini, a lonely and introverted Italian-American gravedigger whose quiet life takes a chaotic turn when he gets mixed up with the mob.

Picture: S Entertainment Inc

As you can see, Adrien Brody's early career was marked by characters that leaned towards criminal activities. Here, he plays Harry Odum, a shy 18-year-old who lives with his controlling mother and is unexpectedly drawn into a murderous underworld.

Photo: Prosperity Electric, Scout Productions

In this epic war film about World War II, Adrien could have made a much bigger impact, but his appearances as a young GI were drastically cut during editing. Director Terrence Malick decided to shift the film's focus to other characters.

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Directed by Spike Lee, Brody played Richie Trantino, shown here at the right with a Union Jack T-shirt on. He's a rebellious and eccentric young man who wants to be a musician and stands out in his Italian-American neighborhood because of his punk rock style, British accent, and unconventional behavior.

In this film about a Jewish family, Brody played Van, the older brother of the film's protagonist, Ben Kurtzman (Ben Foster). A major plot in the film is Brody's character's difficult relationship with a wealthy girl (Carolyn Murphy, photo) who is not Jewish.

Brody starred as Władysław Szpilman, a Jewish Polish pianist who struggles to survive during World War II after the Nazi invasion of Poland. His character is based on the real-life Szpilman, a talented musician who witnesses the horrors of the Holocaust and fights to stay alive amidst the destruction of Warsaw. This role got him the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Picture: Focus Features

There were a few TV scandals after Adrien Brody's big Oscar victory... Maybe the success overwhelmed him?
First, as he accepted his Oscar in March 2003, he surprised Halle Berry by grabbing her by the waist and kissing her on the mouth. Critics complained about this non-consensual kiss on live TV. According to 'Vulture,' the actor does not want to talk about the incident any more.

Then, in November, he hosted 'Saturday Night Live' and did an improvised impression of a Jamaican rapper that viewers and colleagues found distasteful. Even though Brody would never return to the show again, and his Jamaican act was deleted from SNL records, he assured to 'Vulture' that he had not received an SNL ban, as some had speculated. They just never invited him back.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood parties and interesting roles kept coming. In 'The Village,' directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Brody portrayed Noah Percy, a mentally challenged young man who lived in a secluded 19th-century village. His co-stars in the movie were Bryce Dallas Howard and Joaquin Phoenix.

Picture: Touchstone Pictures

In 'The Jacket', Brody once again played a mentally troubled man. This time, he was a Gulf War veteran wrongly accused of murder and sent to a psychiatric institution. The treatment in this facility is very controversial and cruel.

Picture: Warner Independent Pictures

In the remake of this classic, Brody is a key figure trying to save the crew on Skull Island, where the mighty King Kong resides. His co-stars were Jack Black and Naomi Watts. To his right in the photo is director Peter Jackson.

This movie was one of the first of Adrien Brody's collaborations with the great director Wes Anderson (left). He played the youngest of three brothers who embark on a spiritual journey across India to reconnect after the death of their father. His co-stars were Owen Wilson (not in the picture) and Jason Schwartzman (right).

In 'The Brothers Bloom,' Brody and his co-star Mark Ruffalo run into trouble in a comedy caper about two brothers who are con artists.

Picture: Endgame Entertainment

On a much more serious note, Adrien Brody participated in the American remake of the German movie 'Das Experiment', a story based on the infamous Stanford Prison experiment by psychologist Philip Zimbardo in 1971. Next to him in this still of the movie, we see Forest Whitaker.

Photo: Sony Pictures

You may not immediately recognize the historical character he plays, because Adrien Brody's moustache was quite modest in this Woody Allen time-traveling adventure, but here we the one and only Salvador Dalí, the surrealist artist roaming 1920s' Paris. Brody's Dalí is quirky and humorous as he finds himself once again with Owen Wilson on set.

Picture: Sony Pictures Classics

The actor returned in a Wes Anderson movie with 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. He played the villain, Dmitri, who fights over his family's inheritance in Budapest and is a memorable presence in the film.

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures

In this 2-chapter miniseries, Brody embodies the great Houdini. The series delves into Houdini's rise to fame, his personal life, and his complex relationship with his wife, Bess Houdini (Kristin Connolly), as well as his obsession with proving the supernatural and exposing fraudulent spiritualists. For this performance, Brody got an Emmy nomination.

Picture: Lionsgate Television, A&E Studios

By now a familiar face in American movies, both comedy and crime dramas, Adrien joined the cast of the epic BBC series 'Peaky Blinders' for a few episodes. His performance started when the Murphy family decides to expand its shady business overseas, to Boston.

Photo: BBC

In another brilliant Wes Anderson production, Brody played Julian Cadazio, an eccentric art dealer who becomes entangled with the plot of the artist Moses Rosenthaler, played by Benicio del Toro.

Photo: Searchlight Pictures

He only appeared in two episodes of this highly acclaimed drama series. However, as the billionaire investor Josh Aaronson, the impressive performance of Adrien Brody was nominated for an Emmy for Best Guest Actor. His character causes high tension among the Roy family, as he is considering to buy the entire company and shaking it up completely.

Picture: HBO

In this highly publicized but also controversial biopic of Marilyn Monroe, Adrien Brody plays her third husband, the writer Arthur Miller. The main character is played by Ana de Armas.

Photo: Netflix

Once again we see Brody in one of Wes Anderson's quirkiest works. This time, 'Asteroid City' tell a double story in which a play is being filmed by a TV documentary crew. Brody's character is the director of the TV program about a theater project on UFOs in the fictional town of Asteroid City. Other big stars in this film include Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Margot Robbie, and many others.

Photo: Focus Features, Universal Pictures International

In a role that reminds us of 'The Pianist,' Adrien Brody plays a Hungarian immigrant in the U.S. just after World War II. He survived a concentration camp and now has to climb the ladder of the American Dream with small jobs and poverty. In the end, however, he becomes a known architect of the Brutalist style. For this complex role, Brody has received many awards so far in 2025. Will the Oscar for Best Actor be next?

Photo: Brookstreet Pictures

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