I Did It My Way! Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Adrien Brody was born into a middle-class family in Queens, New York. He grew up with his younger brother Josh, who is now a film-maker. Both his parents had turbulent histories. His father, a school teacher/painter, had a Polish Jewish background. His mother was a Hungarian who fled the country in the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. She was a photojournalist.

It may be a coincidence, but the two roles in which Brody received Oscars for Best Actor had connections to both his parents. In "The Pianist" he played a Polish Holocaust survivor. In "The Brutalist" he played an Hungarian architect who moved to the US. When he gave his Oscar acceptance speech for "The Brutalist", he paid tribute to his parents: "Oh my goodness, you [parents] always hold me up. I often credit my mother for her influence on me as an artist, but Dad, you are the foundation of this family, and all this love that I receive flows back to you...The [ László Tóth] character's journey is very reminiscent of my mother's and my ancestral journey of fleeing the horrors of war and coming to this great country, and you know, I owe so much to my mother, [and] my grandparents for their sacrifice."

He also gave his partner Georgina Chapman praise in the same speech, "I share this with my amazing partner Georgina, who has not only reinvigorated my own self-worth, but my sense of value and my values and her beautiful children Dash and India, I know it's been a roller coaster, but thank you for accepting me into your life and Popsy's coming home a winner."

In "The Village Voice" in a post-Academy Awards interview, Brody said that of the movies he had completed he was the most proud of was "Detachment" (2011), where he played a substitute teacher in Queens, New York. He said it was a tribute to his Dad.

Brody's personal life has not been easy. At 19 he was injured in a motorcycle accident, from which it took months to recover. In his preparation for "The Pianist", he gave up his apartment and car and spent four months at four hours a day on piano lessons so he could master Chopin's music, which he played himself in the movie. He also shed 30 pounds (14 kg) for the role. At 6 foot 1, (185 cm), he was an unhealthy 130 pounds (59 kg) during filming. When he won that Academy Award at 29, he was the youngest recipient of the Best Actor award.

The first five moves in which he collaborated with film-maker Wes Craven, "The Darjeeling Limited" (2007), "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009), "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014), "The French Dispatch" (2021), and "Asteroid City" (2023), were all critically acclaimed. In the 23 years between his first and second Best Actor Academy Awards, Adrien Brody has become known as one of the finest actors of his generation. He can say with absolute assurance, "I did it my way!".