There are certain faces one expects to see at a comic book convention, but once in a while someone shows up that’s above and beyond the caliber of genre actors and cult heroes. This past weekend at the New York Comic-Con 2010, I got a chance to sit with Academy Award winner Adrien Brody to discuss his recent work in Predators, which releases on Blu-ray and DVD October 19th, a reboot of the classic science fiction franchise and produced by Robert Rodriguez with direction by Nimrod Antal.
Brody’s Oscar was for the Roman Polanski drama The Pianist in 2002, and we chatted about his decision to choose a decidedly different type of role, the challenges in doing so, and the personal triumphs it awarded him.
Also be sure to check out CraveOnline’s EXCLUSIVE Predators clip below, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.
CraveOnline: Adrien, thanks a lot for talking with us. I know you just got here; do you have an agenda today, are you signing?
Adrien Brody: Yeah, that’s the main reason I wanted to come was to just kind of be there and show my enthusiasm as well. I’m a fan of the genre.
CraveOnline: Are you a comic book fan?
Adrien Brody: I was a comic book fan when I was young, I lost it at a relatively young age. Junior High I stopped really trading comics, but I had stacks.
CraveOnline: There’s so much stuff down there right now, it’s out of control.
Adrien Brody: I kind of would like to re-educate myself. But you go down different paths, you know? My friends at the time weren’t into it, and if my friends were into Dungeons & Dragons, then I would be playing Dungeons & Dragons. But they were into other things, I ended up into muscle cars and spending all my time and energy and money into repairing my broken down old muscle car.
CraveOnline: Hey, that’s fine. It worked out.
Adrien Brody: It worked out, right! I had a bit of both though. And they both helped; they both helped with the work and imagination and I’ve applied my interest in the fantasy world to my work. They go hand in hand, actually. In King Kong I got to do all my own driving stunts because of the training I had, and that was really, really exciting.
CraveOnline: That’s one question I had. You’re generally not known as the “action hero”, so how was it to be in that kind of a role, first in King Kong and now in Predators?
Adrien Brody: Well that was kind of the point, to go beyond people’s perception of me and the limitations that are imposed upon an actor when people, though they might admire my work, they don’t necessarily see my range, or my own interest in that and my own ability to convey strength and not necessarily be as physically imposing as someone like Schwarzenegger. To take that challenge and that risk. Because you know, there was plenty of skepticism about my ability to do justice to that role. That’s important for me personally to kind of step beyond that. Not just for the people, but for myself because I know what appeals to me. And I know that Hollywood often depicts strength as sheer physical brawn and it’s not really about that in the real world.
I worked out very intensely, had a very specific diet to put on a lot of muscle mass and be ripped. But that wasn’t the main objective, it was part of it. There’s a cool element to that, to see your heroic character be ripped and do all these things. But I will also try and play the reality of it in that soldiers are not superhuman. Someone like that would have the same physicality that I would. Not every GI is massive or ripped. They’re strong, you need to have the ability to overcome obstacles in combat situations and all that, but a lot of it is internal or mental. A level of control of emotion. Those are things that I cultivated. So yeah, it was important to do this and incorporate what I do in any film, but to actually be playful with the work and find a character like this.
CraveOnline: Was it difficult for you to find the role and convince them that you were right for it because of your previous work, or because you’re not known as the action guy?
Adrien Brody: It was challenging, yeah. Absolutely. And rightfully so. They are business decisions. When they’re investing in a film that costs millions of dollars, there’s a formula they like to somewhat stick with that guarantees something. And I was a risk. I definitely was a risk, but I think its proved to be a smart choice on their part. The film did very well internationally and you know, it’s exciting. What was necessary was to convey not only my enthusiasm but what I just told you now; that it’s not far from the truth. And that if they go down the typical conventional road, they’re not doing anything innovative. I appreciate that I had the support of Robert and Nimrod and the studio, but it took some work; it took some convincing. I definitely wasn’t the first person on line for this by any means.
CraveOnline: Right. I think that makes it more appealing, that they went with a different choice.
Adrien Brody: I think it’s great. It’s just not up to me to make that decision. There’ve been times where I’ve tried to find things that were like this, but this kind of fits exactly what I would want to do in the action genre. It’s the science-fiction realm, there’s a certain level of being stylized, it’s kind of an homage to a film that affected me tremendously. I saw that movie when I was 14 and you know, I was out with my boys and we were doing Schwarzenegger impressions, and it affected me like so many other kids.
CraveOnline: Of course.
Adrien Brody: So in one sense it was, I think, the right decision for them. And for me, to just give me a chance to go beyond what’s presented to me. And again, to change the perception of what my limitations are. And that’s exciting.
CraveOnline: You mentioned that Predator influenced you as a kid, did you go after Predators specifically because it was that same franchise, or was it Robert Rodriguez and the people involved?
Adrien Brody: Oh yeah. I’m a fan of Robert’s work and I think he’s very good at what he does, he’s very very good. He’s very talented, and he’s also collaborative. He knows how to do a stylized film of this nature on limited resources and make the most out of it, and you need that. But to kind of step into the shoes of a Schwarzenegger character being known as the actor in The Pianist and get that opportunity to really shine in that is a big coup. It’s beyond what normally happens in my industry. If you look at an actor who is very successful as a comedic actor, it’s very difficult for him to get a serious role, or to be taken seriously as a serious actor. And vise versa. It’s very hard for people to imagine that I have a sense of humor or that I can go out and get in a physically imposing shape and be intimidating on that level. The key is not do it for the sake of doing it, but to do it if you’re inspired by it. To keep pushing the boundaries, and that way it not only remains interesting for me as a lifetime career, but also for people that know my work and then they can be surprised when they go see it.
CraveOnline: I guess my last question would be, do you find yourself preparing differently for something like The Pianist and then Predators?
Adrien Brody: Actually, no. I mean obviously there’s different requirements, both required major physical shifts. Both required very specific diet. For The Pianist I had very little food, but it was specific. It might not’ve been the healthiest way to do it, but it was very specific. Very little calorie intake. And Predators I had to put on a substantial amount of weight. Not only muscle mass, but reduce body fat, which is very difficult to do in a short time period. And then I had to gain the wait back in The Pianist also. Physically, both were very stressful.
As far as research goes, obviously they are very different, but both required tons of research. I felt it was very important to be very knowledgeable and intimate about not only the weaponry that I use and techniques in using those weapons, but be able to basically disassemble or manipulate the AA12 shotgun that I had with my eyes closed behind my back. And not just military techniques but paramilitary technique. Things that the military is trained to deal with; both are necessary to have an understanding of trapping and hunting.
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And then there’s a level of isolation that I tried to work on. I spent a lot of time alone. I was able to stay in the jungle that we were shooting in, and I spent a lot of time alone there reading manuals and eating a lot [laughs], and training, lifting a lot of heavy weight. So both are relatively intense processes even though at the end of the day, what I’m taking home at night is this is a fictional story, and there’s a level of enjoyment that comes with that. It’s playful, and kind of living out a fantasy.
It has to be based on truth, and if I have to do a lot of work to stay focused every day and not trying to get caught up in the excitement of being able to play a tough guy, but to actually play a character that is not only hardened, but possesses a profound sense of loss that would make him so shut off. And then to kind of subtly include an ounce of humanity that’s left that has not been eroded, so that he’s able to sort of pull out of that to a certain degree. I mean this guy is the ultimate survivor, and if you’re going to live that lifestyle, you are sacrificing a lot of emotion. You become a very selfish person in the name of survival. All of those elements were very important to me. But it is fun at the end of the day. I’m excited, I’m very happy with the way the film turned out.
CraveOnline: Awesome. Well, thank you very much Adrien, it was a pleasure.
Adrien Brody: No problem, thank you. Maybe I’ll see you on the floor.
All images and video courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox. Predators releases on Blu-ray and DVD October 19.
