Adam Brody

Infobox actor


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caption = Brody signing autographs for fans, September 2005
birthdate = birth date and age|1979|12|15
birthplace = San Diego, California
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yearsactive = 1995 - present
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Adam Jared Brody (born December 15, 1979) is an American film and television actor. He began his career in the early 2000s, appearing on the "Gilmore Girls" and other series, and subsequently came to fame for his role as Seth Cohen on "The O.C.", establishing his defining screen persona. Joel Stein of "Time" magazine has described Brody as creating an "Adam Brody type", a screen persona of a "nerdy, sarcastic, obscure-reference-laced Jew".cite news|last=Stein|first=Joel|coauthors=|title=Looking for Mr. Adorkable|pages=|publisher=Time|date=2007-04-12|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1609772,00.html|accessdate=2007-04-15] Brody has also appeared in several film roles, including "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", "Thank You for Smoking" and "In the Land of Women".

Early life

Brody was born in San Diego, California, the oldest son of Jewishcite news|last=Reuven|first=Shmuel|coauthors=|title=EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: Adam Brody Is In the Land of Women|pages=|publisher=Jew Review.net|date=2007-04-15|url=http://www.jewreview.net/article.php?id=1318|accessdate=2007-04-16] parents Valerie (née Siefman), a graphic artist, and Mark Brody, a lawyer.cite web | title=ElleGirl | work=Adam Brody! (Need We Say More?) | url=http://ellegirl.com/article/article.do?articleId=5152 | accessmonthday=25 May |accessyear=2006] He has younger twin brothers, Sean and Matt. Brody attended "Wangenheim Middle School" and Scripps Ranch High School, receiving "poor grades", and grew up in suburban San Diego, spending time surfing. He has said that while he was not a "Casanova", he had "cute girlfriends" and "pretty much lived at the beach".cite news|last =Gillard| first =Honey| coauthors=| title =Adam Brody Goes ‘Live With Regis & Kelly’| pages=| publisher =Blogger News Network| date =2007-04-19 | url =http://www.bloggernews.net/16152| accessdate =2007-04-23 ] Brody attended community college for one year and dropped out at the age of nineteen, moving to Hollywood in order to become an actor. He subsequently hired an acting coach and signed with a manager.

Career

After a year of training and auditioning, Brody landed the role of Barry Williams in the 2000 TV movie "Growing Up Brady". He was cast in recurring roles on "Gilmore Girls" as Dave Rygalski, Lane's bandmate and love interest, and the Canadian comedy television series "The Sausage Factory". In 2001, he played a small cameo in American Pie 2, named as "high school guy". He was one of two high school guys that get chased away from Steve Stiflers party. In 2003, he wrote "Home Security" (a short film), appeared in the feature film "Grind", and began playing his most famous role to date, Seth Cohen, a slightly awkward teenager, on the television show "The O.C." The role turned Brody into a teen idol, with the character having been described by the "Los Angeles Times" as "TV's sexiest geek"cite news|last=Lytal|first=Cristy|coauthors=|title=Coming up from 'The O.C.'|pages=|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2007-04-15|url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-ca-brody15apr15,0,3137464.story?coll=cl-movies|accessdate=2007-04-15] and by Time as having "redefined" the screen persona of "unapologetic" nerdiness; his character (defined by director Jon Kasdan as the "new kind of nerdy Jewish guy: both self-deprecating and self-obsessed") has since inspired scripts to describe particular characters as "Adam Brody types". The role also developed Brody a female fan followingcite news|last=Lawson|first=Terry|coauthors=|title=MOVIE MEN: Adam Brody plays a Michigan-bred screenwriter in Jonathan Kasdan's autobiographical 'In the Land of Women'|pages=|publisher=Detroit Free Press|date=2007-04-15|url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/ENT01/704150538/1036|accessdate=2007-04-15] and as a result, Brody was ranked No. 17 in Independent Online's "100 Sexiest Men Alive", was twice placed on "Teen People"'s annual list of "25 Sexiest Stars under 25", and was the first male on the cover of "Elle Girl". Brody improvised some of the character's comic dialogue.

During the show's run, Brody appeared alongside Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2005's film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and played a Hollywood studio assistant in the 2006 film adaptation of "Thank You for Smoking". Brody was signed to a seven-year contract for "The O.C.", playing the role of Seth Cohen, where he acted much like himself. which was eventually cancelled in 2007 and ended its run in February of that year; Brody has said that he is "not unhappy" with the show's cancellation and that although he was "fortunate" to be on a successful series, he was also glad to "not be on it for 10 years". After the end of "The O.C."'s run, Brody turned to a full-time film career. His next role was the film "In the Land of Women", a romantic comedy co-starring Meg Ryan and Kristen Stewart and released on April 20, 2007. In the film, Brody plays the lead role, a soft-core porn story writer who returns to his mother's Michigan hometown in order to take care of his sick grandmother. Brody did not have to audition for the part, but was almost unable to appear in the film because of scheduling conflicts with the second season of "The O.C."; the film's director pushed filming back eight months because he wanted Brody to star. The same year, Brody will also appear in supporting roles in the lower budget films " Smiley Face", playing a pot dealer, and "The Ten", as a skydiver. He also guest appeared in the Smallville episode "Crush".

Brody, along with actor Zac Efron, was in consideration for the lead part in the film "Speed Racer", a role which was eventually given to Emile Hirsch. Brody was also set to produce a remake of "Revenge of the Nerds", which was cancelled early during filming.cite news|last=Dicker|first=Ron|coauthors=|title=Adam Brody Building Equity In Film|pages=|publisher=Hartford Courant|date=2007-04-16|url=http://www.ctnow.com/movies/hce-sholede0415.artapr15,0,7893058.story?coll=hce-headlines-entertainment|accessdate=2007-04-16]

Brody was also in the music video of a song called "Too Bad About Your Girl" by The Donnas. He and Josh Lucas have signed onto the Boaz Yakin directed drama, "Death in Love". As of March 2008, he is also in Academy Award winner Diablo Cody's new horror flick "Jennifer's Body", co-starring "Transformers" star Megan Fox.

Personal life

Brody lives in Los Angeles. He dated "The O.C." co-star Rachel Bilson, a three-year relationship that ended in December 2006.

Brody plays drums for the band Big Japan with actor Bret Harrison. He writes screenplays and songs during his spare time and has co-written, along with Danny Bilson (father of Rachel Bilson) and Paul DeMeo, a comic book miniseries for Wildstorm Comics called "Red Menace". Brody has also volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program, which is dedicated to developing literacy, self-expression and self-esteem in elementary school children.

Brody has described himself as a "fake intellectual" and his sense of humor as sarcastic. He is a secular Jewcite news|last =Engelberg| first =Keren| coauthors=| title =Young Creator Spells Success ‘O.C.’| pages=| publisher =The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles| date =2003-10-31 | url =http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=11286| accessdate =2006-12-13 ] and has stated that he "couldn't be less religious". Brody has said that when he moved to Hollywood he became "more nerdy" and embraced his "neurotic side".

Filmography

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0111013|name=Adam Brody
*tvtome person|id=32634|name=Adam Brody