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Thursday, March 27, 2003
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Adrien Brody
He hit a perfect note with his Oscar-winning performance in "The Pianist," thrusting Adrien Brody into the world's spotlight. But where did this dark, complicated performer come from?
The man who grew up in Queens brought his mother Sylvia Plachy to the Oscars and has a long resume loaded with supporting roles opposite leading ladies like Hilary Swank in "The Affair of the Necklace" and Andie MacDowell in "Harrison’s Flowers." Adrien considers each of his roles a stepping-stone to greatness. He says, "There are no little roles, only little actors."
Throughout his career, Adrien has shown his acting chops by transforming his appearance for every role, from a geeky scientist in the shoot ‘em up "Solo" to a spiky-haired punk in Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam."
But the 29-year-old chameleon says his most challenging metamorphosis came in "The Pianist." He says, "Within six weeks, I went down to 130 pounds. I'm 6’1", and that was about as low as I could go without losing it."
In a now famous Hollywood story, Adrien literally lost what could have been his breakout opportunity. Much of his impressive performance in "The Thin Red Line" wound up on the cutting room floor due to time constraints.
But now his time has come. Next up, the versatile star will lighten up a bit, doing a little soft-shoe in "The Singing Detective." He says, "I get to sing and dance and beat up Robert Downey, Jr."
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