10 Actors Who Were Haunted By Their Movie Roles
2. Adrien Brody – The Pianist
Adrien Brody is cemented as one of his generation's greatest actors, flourishing on both the big and small screen. Although he possesses the gift of the gab when it comes to comedy and action, drama is where Brody does his best work.
That is especially evident when it comes to winning an Academy Award for his portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman in 2002’s The Pianist.
Much similar to that of Steven Spielberg’s passion project Schindler’s List, The Pianist is a dark, depressing but equally necessary watch due to its historical accuracy and context. It's also regaled for housing one of the 21st century’s greatest acting performances from Brody.
However, it wasn’t a role without its challenges and consequences for the actor. In order to find a connection to the calamitous loss his character suffered, the 50-year-old relocated to Europe for the role, which led him to sell his apartment and car as well as disconnecting and distancing himself from his phone, friends and family.
15 years on from The Pianist's release, Brody detailed that he was still reeling from the role and how “I was depressed for a year… it wasn’t just a depression; it was a mourning.”
Due to Adrian Brody shedding serious weight for the part and the starvation that followed, it’s no wonder how emotionally debilitated the experience left the actor then and all those years later.