Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973, in Woodhaven, Queens, NY) is an American actor, producer, and musician. He is the son of photographer Sylvia Plachy (born 1943). Recognized for his commitment to method acting, Brody gained international fame for his role in Roman Polanski's 2002 film The Pianist, a biographical drama centered on Polish musician Władysław Szpilman. To prepare for this role, Brody lost 13½ kilos and rigorously learned to play Chopin, aiming for authentic piano performances, although he was ultimately dubbed by the skilled pianist Janusz Olejniczak during close-up shots. In March 2003, just weeks before turning 30, Brody received the Academy Award for "Best Leading Actor," triumphing over four previous Oscar winners. This achievement made him the youngest winner in this category and only the third recipient under the age of 31, following Richard Dreyfuss (1978) and Marlon Brando (1955). Additionally, he won the César Award for Meilleur acteur ("Best Actor") in France for the same role, marking a historic joint victory for an American actor in both countries. In 2008, Marion Cotillard became the second actor to win both awards for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in Olivier Dahan's La Môme, while Kristen Stewart became the second American to win a César, albeit as "Best Supporting Actress," in 2015.

Two decades later, in March 2025, Brody won his second Oscar for "Best Actor" for Brady Corbet's period drama The Brutalist, where he portrayed a fictional Holocaust survivor, "László Tóth," a brutalist architect inspired by several real-life figures, including Ernö Goldfinger and Marcel Breuer. Only a handful of actors in Oscar history have maintained a perfect nominations-to-win ratio with two "Best Actor" awards, including Luise Rainer (1937, 1938), Vivien Leigh (1940, 1952), and Kevin Spacey (1996, 2000). Brody is also known for delivering the longest Oscar acceptance speech, lasting 5 minutes and 40 seconds, cutting off only when the music played, surpassing the previous record set by Greer Garson in 1942. For his role in The Brutalist, Brody also earned his first Golden Globe award as "Best Male Actor in a Film Drama," following a nomination for The Pianist in 2003.

Brody's early career includes significant roles in Julien Temple's 1996 drama Bullet, where he acted alongside Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur, as well as in the 1998 independent film Restaurant, featuring actors like Malcolm-Jamal Warner, David Moscow, and Lauryn Hill. His performance in Restaurant earned him a nomination for "Best Male Lead" at the 2001 Independent Spirit Awards, and he contributed to the film's soundtrack under the name Adrien 'A. Ranger' Brody. While filming Spike Lee's 1999 thriller Summer of Sam, Brody suffered a broken nose during a fight scene. Initially upset, he later recognized that not undergoing surgery enhanced his acting and modeling career.

In John Maybury's 2005 psychological thriller The Jacket, Brody underwent multiple sessions in a sensory deprivation tank and adhered to an intense diet and workout regimen to embody his troubled character. He also gained over 11 kilos of muscle to secure a role in Robert Rodriguez and Nimród Antal's 2010 sci-fi action film Predators, appearing as an ex-Commando veteran alongside an ensemble cast that included Alice Braga and Laurence Fishburne. In 2009, he co-starred with Emmanuelle Seigner in Dario Argento's Giallo, taking on two roles and using the alias "[Byron Diedra]" in the credits. Following production issues, Brody sued for unpaid fees, leading to a settlement after the film's limited release in July 2011. Giallo ultimately received negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.

Brody has made notable appearances in several acclaimed television series and has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award three times: for "Outstanding Lead Actor" in the 2015 mini-series Houdini, "Outstanding Narrator" for Breakthrough in 2016, and "Guest Actor" for Succession in 2022. His commercial work includes spots for Pepsi-Cola (1990), K-Mart (1992), and Diet Coke (2004), as well as appearances in Tori Amos's 2002 music video and Rauw Alejandro's 2023 project.