Adrien Brody

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 music. Like the Beatnuts, one of his favorite groups, Brody is also from Queens.

Performed magic shows at childrens birthdays as a child as the Amazing Adrien.

In 2004, Esquire Magazine named him the Best Dressed Man in America.

Once owned and drove a Hummer H2.

Was considered for a role in Pearl Harbor .

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 The RZA.

Ranked #21 on VH1s 100 Hottest Hotties.

Adriens father, Elliot Brody, is a retired history teacher; Elliot is of Polish Jewish descent, and lost family members in the Holocaust. Adriens mother, Sylvia Plachy , the renowned Hungarian-born photographer, fled Communist Hungary as a child during the 1956 revolution against the Soviets. Adriens maternal grandfather was from an aristocratic Hungarian background, while Adriens maternal grandmother was of Czech Jewish descent (her own parents, Adriens great-grandparents, were killed in the Holocaust). Adriens mother was not aware of her own mothers Jewish background until later in life.

Took 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 Frdric Chopin pieces on the piano and shed 30 pounds off his already-thin frame. He cut himself off from his real life by giving up his car and apartment because he felt responsible to those Polish Jews who had suffered greatly and wanted to connect, to some small degree, 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 in 2003.

Is one of only two American actors to win a Csar, the French equivalent to the Oscar. The other one is Kristen Stewart.

Has been compared to Robert De Niro 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 . When he had it fixed, he didnt change it: his nose is one of his most distinctive features and sets him apart from other actors.

Close friends with Asia Argento.

Grew up in the Woodhaven section of Queens in New York.

Was friends with the late Tupac Shakur , with whom he starred in the little-known film Bullet .

He signed on to make Bread and Roses without a script because he trusted the director Ken Loach. Prior to filming, he also went undercover to research life as a union member in Los Angeles, California. He went to conventions and sat in on strike talks. A couple of the members recognized him, but Brody persuaded them not to blow his cover.

Attended CUNY Queens College in the Flushing section of Queens, New York.

Was engaged to Elsa Pataky , having been in a relationship with her since June 2006 after meeting on the set of Manolete (April 2008-May 2009).

Fought hard to convince producer Robert Rodriguez and director Nimrd Antal that he was a good choice for the lead role of "Royce" in Predators .

Put on 25 pounds of muscle for the role of Royce in Predators .

He attended a charity auction in November 2011 for Artists for Peace & Justice, which was offering "Tea with Gerard Butler " as a bidding item; it was a chance to meet and chat with Butler. Brodys $15,000 bid was the winner. On a whim, Brody offered to host "Champagne with Adrien Brody" as a last-minute addition to the auction, if it could take place later that day; he had a bottle available. Brodys offer was accepted, and it earned an additional $17,000 for the charity.

(May 2008) Attended the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 19th.

(October 2006) Attended the Elle Magazine 20th Anniversary Party in Valenica, Spain on October 20th.

(June 2009) Attended the Hugo Boss: Paris Fashion Week Menswear in Paris, France on June 25th.

(November 2006) Attended the 2006 MTV European Music Awards in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 2nd.

(December 2007) Attended the CatHouse grand opening at the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Dec. 29th.

(October 2012) Haikou, China: Attended the World Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament.

(June 2009) Attended the 2009 Moscow Film Festival in Moscow, Russia on June 19th.

(July 2009) Attended the BOSS Orange Fashion Party: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in Berlin, Germany on July 2nd.

(September 2008) Attended the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Sept. 9th.

(September 2007) Attended the 64th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy on September 3rd.

He, Marisa Tomei , Russell Crowe and Marcia Gay Harden are the only actors to win an Oscar without being awarded for the same performance in none of its predecessor awards (Golden Globe, Critics Choice Awards, SAG and BAFTA). Marisa Tomei and Marcia Gay Harden were not even nominated for those awards for their performances in My Cousin Vinny and Pollock , and Crowes only award for Gladiator before the Oscar was the Critics Choice award.

He and Marion Cotillard are the only actors to win both a Csar and an Oscar for the same performance. Brody won both awards in 2003 for The Pianist and Cotillard won in 2008 for La mme .

Appears in the music video of the song "A Sorta Fairytale" by Tori Amos.

As of 2015, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Thin Red Line , The Pianist , Midnight in Paris and The Grand Budapest Hotel .

His maternal great-great-grandfather was noted Hungarian painter brnyi Lajos.

He was considered for the role of The Joker in The Dark Knight.

He was considered for the role of Spock in Star Trek.

Has expressed a desire to star in a comic book film as a hero or villain. He has said he would love to play The Joker or The Riddler in a Batman film.

He has expressed considerable interest in playing The Joker in a Batman film.

My dad told me, "It takes fifteen years to be an overnight success", and,it took me seventeen and a half years.

[on proclaiming himself a magician at age five] I was an amazing Adrien.

[on being strapped in a straitjacket and thrown in a body drawer for,The Jacket (2005) ] Those situations are very challenging,emotionally and psychologically, to find yourself in a confined space,like that. I thought it would be interesting. It was very painful and I,kind of encouraged that pain. I spent time in an isolation tank -- lots,of time -- and I would let them leave me in the jacket and leave me in,the drawer for a while.

[on being enrolled into acting classes by his parents when he was a,teen] I liked it instantly. Aside from being one of only three boys in,a class of 20 girls - the odds were fantastic - I felt I was good at,it, it was creative. I had been encouraged by my parents to be,outspoken and free, so I was pretty much disinhibited. It was a good,outlet for me.

[2010],[on his first role in Home at Last (1988) (TV) , when he was 14] I,was in high school and I went off to Nebraska by myself and I loved it.