Adrien Brody truly knows how to give it all to the character he has decided to portray onscreen. The actor showed the same dedication when he took his role as Wladyslaw Szpilman in the Academy Award-winning movie, The Pianist, after which, the performer revealed about developing some series issues.
During his recent conversation with Vulture (published on December 23, Monday) Brody opened up about developing an eating disorder and suffering from PTSD after he signed up for role, who is a Holocaust survivor, in the aforementioned movie.
The actor spoke about preparing for his role by taking up an extreme diet in order to lose 30 lbs. and he ended up dropping his weight to 129 lbs. He also stated that he “was barely drinking water by the time they started filming.”
He said that “physical transformation” was essential for storytelling. He further said, “But then that kind of opened me up, spiritually, to a depth of understanding of emptiness and hunger in a way that I didn’t know, ever.”
The Detachment star did confess during the interview about having long-term effects because of that physical transformation, which resulted in him dealing with panic attacks, insomnia, and PTSD from that experience.
The actor stated, “I definitely had an eating disorder for at least a year,” he added. “And then I was depressed for a year, if not a lifetime. I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”
The actor’s dedication and the hard work he puts into his roles shine brightly when he impresses us with his artistry. As far as his current professional font goes, Brody has starred in a new A24 venture titled, The Brutalist, in which he portrays the role of a Hungarian-Jewish architect, László Toth, who emigrats to the United States to find work after surviving the Holocaust.