Adrien Brody
Academy Award winner Adrien Brody was always passionate about the performing arts, but of a slightly different kind. As a kid, Brody was an amateur magician and performed in children’s birthday parties under the name “The Amazing Adrien.” Though he never had stage fried, he credits his mother’s career as a photographer to what encouraged him to open up in front of the camera.
His parents were the ones to push Brody into acting, as they signed him to acting classes throughout his childhood as a way to keep him out of the streets and out of trouble. Brody was a natural performer, which is why he won his first roles in an Off-Broadway play and a PBS film at the age of thirteen. His most acclaimed role, the one that made him the youngest actor to win an Academy Award, is his lead role in The Pianist.