Celebrity Interview - Adrien Brody - Comments

Adrien Brody

Poster: Amparo De La Gama 01/11/2006

IF THE ABILITY TO ADAPT DEFINES A GOOD ACTOR, ADRIEN BRODY TOPS THE LIST - AS AMPARO DE LA GAMA REVEALS IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE HOLLYWOOD STAR.

Can anyone imagine Adrien Brody, with his delicate hands and languid look, as a tough, cynical and disillusioned detective? Director Allen Coulter imagined him that way for Hollywoodland, and the actor delighted fans when he arrived in Venice this year to promote the film - in his customarily discreet manner.
Brody's wonderful performance in the role of detective Louis Simo isn't the only character we'll see him playing this year. His ruffled yet elegant, sensuous and charismatic look - what could be described as "perfectly imperfect" - prompted Dutch director Menno Meyjes to bring to life the story of legendary Spanish bullfighter Manuel Rodriguez Sanchez and his stormy relationship with actress Lupe Sino (played by Penélope Cruz) in Manolete.

Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland is, like Brian de Palma's The Black Dahlia, based on a true story...
Yes, but unlike other similar ones Hollywoodland is not about a horrible massacre but more a probable suicide. George Reeves, the actor who played Superman in the first TV series about the Krypton hero, was found dead at night in his bedroom on June 1959. This is the starting point for the legend of the "Superman curse". In "black" films, deaths are an excuse to talk about the living. In Hollywoodland, the Superman tragedy opens the door for audiences to an historical moment in the entertainment industry. That's the essential difference.

Some actors have told me that playing such intense roles can leave them with painful consequences...
Well I suppose each one lives it differently. In my case, I would say they make me healthier, as they allow me to experiment with certain inner ghosts.

By the way, after watching this film I wondered, are you claustrophobic?
Not really, no. But there are roles which make me experience levels of claustrophobia which I aren't used to. As an actor, you have to be receptive to whatever happens with your character, even in uncomfortable situations. Sometimes you have to boost your staying power.

How did you prepare yourself for this particular character?
I made some investigations about him. But then, during filming, we never analysed what was happening to any of the characters, even mine, however unlikely things became. In these moments, everything is so real you don't find it extraordinary.

Your roles always seem to be about very troubled characters. Is this coincidence or causality?
I like to play roles which allow me to discover more about human nature. The more complex the story or the character, the more there is to learn.

Can complexity end up becoming a spider's web which meticulously traps the actor?
I think some actors are more obsessive than others. It's an unfortunate trap because we come from the dark side in this profession, not being respected in our work. And some don't even reach that point. You begin to feel a bit important when people ask you about world politics. Is my opinion worth more than somebody else's because I'm famous?

Adrien Brody doesn't have Brad Pitt's eyes, or Tom Cruise's smile, or Colin Farrell's biceps, or Matthew McConaughey's shape. Yet camera flashes devour him when he's out partying...
I don't go out so much now. I had to close the door for a time being because it was too much. It's very strange. Suddenly, everybody wants to invite me, but the thrill is also lost. Some people like the attention. They love all the flashes and it fulfils them in some way, but that was never my intention.

Your broken nose is virtually a war trophy. You don't have any of the looks you need to be a Hollywood screen idol, but you are the most idolised of them all...
People don't treat me like a real American actor. But I am. I love cars, I ride a motorbike, but they don't notice it. If they see me on the front cover of a magazine showing my bare chest, they ask me, "What did you do that for, Adrien?" And I didn't do anything. I only took off my T-shirt for a photo, because I'd exercised a bit... But there seems to be a certain idea that I'm a serious Polish actor. People ask me if I live in London. They don't know where I'm from. And it's okay. In some ways it's flattering. I still don't know what to expect. I also didn't know what to expect when I did The Pianist. I never thought I would have a chance to win an Oscar.

You grew up with a lot of confidence in yourself and a lot of support from your parents. You are the child of a history teacher and a renowned photo-journalist in the US, Sylvia Plachy, who introduced you into the film world when you were young...
My parents always encouraged me to exploit my potential the way I wanted to. One day I left Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Los Angeles, where I worked as a waiter while going to all the auditions and waiting for the great opportunity, which came shortly afterwards. I stayed away from violence, gangs and graffiti on filthy walls in search of what I wanted to become.

People tend to remember these sorts of moments with a certain nostalgia, once seen from a distance, but at the time, living through them, I imagine it must have been hard...
The first year wasn't so bad as my father took a sabbatical to accompany me on my first steps. I was lucky: not all parents do that. I got some small parts in TV and cinema, in Gangs of New York and Bullet; I even met Mickey Rourke.

But your dramatic gentleness was really appreciated in History of an Assassin, in which Roman Polanski unveiled you disguised as a tough guy but exuding tenderness. Is that so?
Well, in that film I was a serial killer disguised with piercing and a waistcoat with studs. Polanski had already auditioned over more than 1,000 candidates and none of them matched the profile required by the story he was seeking. Then I was lucky that he saw me.

And a short time later you perfectly portrayed the role of a refugee in a Nazi concentration camp...
I had to lose over 15 kilos and learn how to play Chopin on the piano, dedicating many hours a day. My father helped me with the Polish accent. Roman was incredible; he submitted me to such an exhaustive diet I nearly died from hunger. That was torture.

A torture which enabled you to place the prized figure of an Oscar on your mantelpiece, and represented a before and after in your career...
Of course, it's true the sacrifice was worth the effort. When Polanski offered me the role, I began to study Szpilman's life and try to understand what his isolation, loneliness and desperation was like. Then I cancelled my flat and telephones in Los Angeles, sold my car and disappeared in order to get thin, isolate myself from everyone and prepare myself. The thing is that in all my films I have radically changed my aspect, but in The Pianist I had to end up with nothing more than skin and bones...I've always been a crazy dog, a dangerous and wild youngster. After The Pianist I feel I turned over a new leaf, gaining maturity. It sparked off a new direction in my life, because everything I've experienced has softened my intolerance, my impatience and my habit of always complaining. I think I've improved as a person. As an actor, I leave it up to others' judgment.

When you worked on The Jacket, also connected to a military conflict, specifically the first "Gulf War", you had to be restrained with a straitjacket inside a morgue niche for a long time...
True, and in that sense it may affect a lot more people now. We are more aware about soldiers coming home wounded or with psychological damage. In The Pianist my character, Szpilman, suffered more from the physical effects of war; in The Jacket, the effects are psychological. This film shows the abuse suffered by some people at the hands of the system. For this role I was already used to my characters' challenges, but the tears the audience saw in the film were real.

At least King Kong wasn't such a traumatic film...
No, much better (he laughs)! I had a few knocks and I still have the scars and bruises to prove it. I was nine months hanging from New Zealand trees, where the film was shot.

Your kissing Halle Berry was discussed a lot... the star of Catwoman, in the middle of the Oscars gala in 2003...
If you are going to do something like that at least once, undoubtedly the right moment was when I received my first Oscar as best actor for The Pianist. I was only 29, and having won against actors of the calibre of Nicolas Cage and Daniel Day-Lewis, I got a bit full of myself (he laughs). It was very nice of Halle to return the gesture. The scene that I represented in such a special moment for me was inspired by a photo I discovered of my own parents in their youth, in the style of Doisneau lovers. After that, the scene became a long-standing joke.

You talk about Doisneau,.. Were you always connected to the world of films?
I was always an actor, even when I wasn't working. I don't know how to explain. I don't mean to say I loved being the centre of attention, all the time, but in those moments I felt connected. I had quite a vivid imagination. I don't know if it was directly related to cinema in general, but I've always loved it and grew up enjoying movies.

Is there any film that has made a special impact on you?
When I was young, De Niro and Pacino movies were amazing. Most films from the '70s, like Taxi Driver, I've enjoyed them over a million times. Those films had a great impact on me. Tragedy fascinates me and that's why I'm attracted to characters in that style. And I don't only want to explore conflicts; I also wish they wouldn't happen.

MANOLETE: THE PERFECTLY IMPERFECT BULLFIGHTER

Manolete's bullfighting triumphs and tragic death in 1947 are a key part of Spanish legend. His death at the early age of 30 shocked Spain in its post-war era; historians and biographers say the matador helped satisfy the nation's need for entertainment in the Franco years, when bullfighters were like rock and roll stars of today.
Manolete's biographers were of the opinion that Sino, the bullfighter's great love, had a dark reputation and was after his money, but those words highlight the basic hostility against women in the bullfighting world. Neither his mother nor members of his professional circle liked Sino, partly because of the tradition sustained by bullfighting in which women and bulls shouldn't be mixed. While Manolete bled to death after being gored on 28 August 1947, Sino was forbidden to see him "under doctors' orders", in case the bullfighter tried to marry her "in mortis article" or in his last moments of life. He died 24 hours later.
Even in those days bullfighters made fortunes, so a marriage on his deathbed would have snatched away a substantial inheritance from the family. Despite efforts to ruin the relationship, it is widely accepted that Manolete and Sino were greatly in love.

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