Biography
Date of Birth
15 December 1979, San Diego, California, USA
Birth Name
Adam Jared Brody
Height
5' 11" (1.8 m)
Mini Biography
Adam Jared Brody was born and raised in San Diego, California, the son of Valerie Jill (Siefman), a graphic artist, and Mark Alan Brody, a lawyer. His parents, both originally from Michigan, are both from Jewish families (from Russia and Poland). Adam spent a lot of his teen years hanging out with his friends, having fun and surfing. Upon graduation, he convinced his parents to allow him to attend college in Los Angeles. However, instead of enrolling in school, he hired an acting coach, signed with a talent manager and soon landed the lead in the NBC movie-of-the-week, Growing Up Brady (2000), playing Barry Williams (Greg Brady). Soon after, Brody was cast as the lead, Zack Altman, in the MTV series Much Ado About Whatever (2001). His television credits also include the recurring role of Coop in ABC's Once and Again (1999); a recurring role as Dave Rygalski in The WB's Gilmore Girls (2000); and standout guest-starring roles in Judging Amy (1999), Family Law (1999) and Smallville (2001). Brody then starred in the Fox series The O.C. (2003), portraying Seth Cohen, which made him famous.
In addition to starring in the comedy Grind (2003), Brody's early feature film credits included a minor role in the thriller The Ring (2002), a lead role in the drama Missing Brendan (2003), and supporting roles in the action film Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and the comedy-drama Thank You for Smoking (2005). He then starred in the romantic comedy In the Land of Women (2007) with Kristen Stewart and Meg Ryan, and appeared in the sequel Scream 4 (2011), and the arthouse hit Damsels in Distress (2011). Also in the 2010s, he had memorable roles in the dramedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), the superhero comedy Shazam! (2019), and the satirical horror film Shazam! (2019), the latter two particularly acclaimed films. He began the 2020s with starring in Promising Young Woman (2020), and a bit part in the dark thriller Promising Young Woman (2020), which was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
Trivia
Plays the drums in a band called Big Japan (formerly called Steven's Team). Claims his drumming is more like practice instead of actual drumming.
Loves indie rock and jazz. His taste in music is the same as that of his character on The O.C. (2003), Seth Cohen.
Graduated from Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, California.
Attended MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California.
Has younger fraternal twin brothers, Matt and Sean (born 1985).
Was named one of Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" with Mischa Barton, Ben McKenzie, and Rachel Bilson.
Was ranked #9 on Elle Girl magazine's "50 Hottest Guys" list.
Has a dog named Penny.
Is the first male actor to pose for the cover of Elle Girl magazine.
Portrayed Greg Brady in a parody sketch on The Amanda Show (1999), while portraying the actor Barry Williams (who played Greg in real life) on Growing Up Brady (2000).
Was roommates with Bret Harrison, who guest-starred on The O.C.: The Rivals (2004).
Named one of People magazine's "50 Hottest Bachelors" in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
Was voted #1 in Cosmo Girl UK's list of pin-up sex symbols in 2005.
Portrayed a character named Barry Gilmore in an episode of Judging Amy (1999), then went on to have a recurring role on Gilmore Girls (2000).
Was ranked #17 in The Independent Online's "100 Sexiest Men Alive" in 2006.
Voted by fans as Elle Girl magazine's "Coolest TV Star" and "Coolest Guy Celeb".
(December 5, 2006) Split from his The O.C. (2003) co-star Rachel Bilson after two years together.
Mentioned in an interview that Brad Pitt once approached him and told him that he loved the movie Grind (2003).
Was named one of People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2004.
Is only 14 years younger than Kelly Rowan, who plays his mother on The O.C. (2003).
Was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful" in 2004.
Was to star in and co-produce a 2007 remake of Revenge of the Nerds (1984) but after three weeks of filming the project was canceled.
An aficionado of Dean Martin's and Frank Sinatra's music, and old horror movies.
His favorite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
Loves filmmaking and is interested in writing and directing.
Is a fan of Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Arctic Monkeys.
Favorite books are "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon, and "Less than Zero" by Bret Easton Ellis.
Likes watching The Daily Show (1996) and Entourage (2004).
Owns a horse.
Studied with Amy Lyndon.
Loves 1940s, 1950s, 1960s jazz and is a big fan of Chet Baker.
Based his performance in Jennifer's Body (2009) mainly on Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Jared Leto of Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana named a pair of boots after him: the "Adam Brody Lace Up Boots".
(November 20, 2013) Engaged to Leighton Meester.
His parents are both from Jewish families (from Russia and Poland). Adam had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.
In 2007, he was set to play the role of Ned on Pushing Daisies (2007). However, after just finishing up The O.C. (2003), Adam did not want to venture into another television show so soon, so he passed on the role. It was rumored that the producers and ABC offered him a salary of $300,000 per episode. This would have placed him as one of the highest-paid TV actors at that time.
Campaigned for Barack Obama in the 2008 election.
Topped E!'s "Sizzling 16" in 2003, beating out stars like Josh Duhamel, Keira Knightley, Hayden Christensen, and Emily VanCamp.
Campaigned for Senator Sherrod Brown, alongside Hillary Clinton and Luke Perry, in 2006.
Became a father for the 1st time at age 35 when his wife Leighton Meester gave birth to their daughter Arlo Day Brody on August 4, 2015. They had a second child, a boy whose name has not been revealed yet, in September 2020.
(February 15, 2014) Married his girlfriend of two years Leighton Meester following a three-month-engagement.
Brother-in-law of Lex Meester.
Winner of the UCLA film school Jim Morrison Film Award.
Trademarks:
Sarcastic personality
Quotes
I just graduated from high school, and I was working at Blockbuster. Not only did I get into movies while I was there, but I was putting away boxes and looking at the kids on the covers, it felt like windows into these seemingly perfect lives.
I'll never have a more life-changing year than than this last one (2003-2004). I could win an Oscar and it wouldn't alter my daily life as much as The O.C. (2003) has.
You know how in The Fugitive (1993), when Harrison Ford hears sirens, he'll just subtly steer the other way? I do that when I see groups of teenage girls.
I love movie-making. I'm interested in writing and directing, and I've dabbled, but I haven't done anything I care to brag about. Yet.
I wish I came from a more pure place. I don't have something to say from the bottom of my soul. I just know how to take stuff I like and repackage it in a slightly different way.
I don't want to be one of those guys who's known for his love life and not his work.
I was giving away movies all day, and it looked really interesting. I was not into school, there wasn't anything I wanted to do. The only thing in my career counseling class that looked at all interesting was acting. I was kind of drifting. I thought maybe I'd own a surf shop.
It's very important to me to love what I do. It was important to me to find a career that I truly enjoy. You can find something that sort of excites you, that's half the battle of life.
I'd like to write a little bit. If I could trade being an actor for a writer, I'd rather be a writer. But I don't know if I'm any good at it.
Life is so fleeting in a way - and it's unlike me, because I'm very driven, and I get a little obsessive - but I am trying to be very Zen about it. Just enjoy it.
And, honestly, who cares if you get a good movie or not? I feel like I'm in semi-retirement already a little bit. I'm 27, and I have a house. I've decided that I'm happy with my lot in life.
[on fame] When all this started I was worried I'd become addicted to the wrong things. I don't mean drugs, but I thought I might become an egomaniac. I will admit that I've caught myself about to act like a diva. But I try to keep myself in check.
I love a good, interesting movie with good, interesting choices. I'd rather be in an interesting failure than a generic copy of a copy of a copy.
[on his upbringing, and moving to Los Angeles] All I wanted to do was surf. I pretty much lived at the beach. I tried going to community college but dropped out and moved to Hollywood. It was really cool when I moved to Hollywood. There are so many Jews and I immediately liked the camaraderie with people who had the same heritage. It felt good. Where I grew up there were hardly any Jews. I'm not religious but both my parents are Jewish. I was Bar Mitzvahed and we celebrate Hanukah. Growing up, I think there was maybe one other kid who was Jewish. I wasn't teased because nobody cared but I guess on some level, I knew in that way I was different.
I'm just drawn to all aspects of filmmaking - writing, directing; I'd love to try my hand at everything.
[on career choices] After last year, all of us on the show could've jumped on the boat right away and gone and done some cheesy, bad movie that catered exactly to our demographic and our characters, but no one did, which I thought was really smart and cool.
[on moving to Los Angeles] I made a deal with myself, I would come here and give myself one year, try acting my absolute hardest. If going to an audition conflicted with a job, I'd go to the audition.
[on acting] It turned out to be something I love, and that I really feel is my calling. I really feel like I lucked out and found something I love to do.
[if acting doesn't work out] There's about six things I could be happy doing. I'm getting really interested in politics. I'd love to work for a newspaper and do editorials and stuff.
