July 2005 By Philip Berk
Adam Brody plays the dork in The O.C.
Yet when he was gulled in an episode of Punk’d by no less than his costar Benjamin McKenzie, he came through with flying colors, far better than most macho guys usually do.
The set-up was simple.
He and Benjamin were dining at a restaurant where some young guy has just proposed to his girlfriend and given her an expensive diamond ring.
When she recognizes Benjamin and Adam (from the show) she goes over to talk to them, and there is an immediate connection with Adam.
Later she places a note in Adam’s pocket, which totally bamboozles him.
Suspecting something, her fiance accuses Adam of hitting on his girl.
He starts getting abusive and physical.
Adam has no idea what’s happening.
If he were Seth, he’d be totally wiped out, apologetic, and scared.
But on this episode, Adam stands his ground, refuses to knuckle under and challenges the guy all the way.
In other words, he’s the man!
Ultimately, when the joke is revealed, the episode ends abruptly.
No wrap up!
No Ashton running in, putting his arms around Adam, and getting his reluctant approval.
Nothing.
So what happened?
We’ll never know.
Interviewing him a few days before that episode was aired, I was struck by the fact that’s he’s exactly the character he plays on television.
Funny, self deprecating, and a little awkward.
Could he talk about himself? Where he’s from, and how old he was when he first thought of becoming an actor?
“My real name is Adam Goldberger-Steinmitz,” he volunteers.
“My agent thought that was too ethnic, so it became Brody. I was born in San Diego, didn’t do any acting in high school, didn’t know what I wanted to do after I graduated, so I sort of floated around for six months, then found a job at Blockbuster video, putting away movies. The job sucked, but it made me realize I liked movies and maybe I could try acting. So on a whim, five years ago a friend and I moved up here, We took an acting class,” (actually they hired an acting coach) “found a manager and an agent, and sort of steamrolled, and four years later here I am.”
What was his first big break?
“Seven lines on The Young and the Restless,” he jokes. “After that, people looked at me differently.”
Wasn’t there something that gained him notice?
“No, O.C. is the only thing that’s ever made anyone really give a shit.”
Later I discovered he has quite a resume, including recurring roles in Now What, Once and Again, and Gilmore Girls, guest starring roles in Judging Amy, Family Law, and Smallville, and a small role in The Ring.
Does he have any brothers and sisters?
“I have two twin brothers that are nineteen; they’re very fraternal, they don’t even look related. They both go to college and have no acting aspirations.”
So how has his life changed in the past year?
“It’s great in terms of future jobs, but it’s all scary because more people watch it. There’s much more interest in you. A year and a half ago when I auditioned for the part, I went in on the ground floor. I had to audition five times. Now I can go in and just say, ‘I don’t want to do it’ or whatever. So the greatest thing for me is I have a little more leverage, but the downside is I don’t have much free time.”
Can he talk about his character. How has he evolved since the first season?
“Seth is obviously someone the cool kids in school don’t like. I wanted to make sure that it was as much his doing as theirs because he didn’t like them any better. He doesn’t want to be part of that crowd. Ryan coming to live with them, suddenly they form a clique of their own, and then Marissa coming, they almost end up forming their own Breakfast Club. So that’s worked out nice for Seth because now he’s got someone to beat up people for him”.
And where does he see him going?
Dryly he answers, “Slowly into syndication.” (obviously referring to all the money he would make if the show runs five seasons.)
The show caters to teenage audiences. Does that carry a responsibility?
“I don’t want to put anything bad out there, but I want to be responsible in the sense that I don’t want to show negative things and not have consequences happen. But at the same time we want to be realistic, so high schoolers drink. They don’t always get in a drunk-driving accident after their first sip. We don’t want to encourage bad behavior, but our main goal is to have an entertaining hour, share in the joys and sorrows of the characters, and not take away anything bad from it.”
So there is that concern?
“A perfect example is Ryan’s character. He smoked in the pilot; they cut that out, but then in the promo there was a scene of him and me smoking, and they ended up putting that footage back in the show. Then they removed it from the promo, and in the subsequent ad campaign he didn’t smoke.”
Sounds confusing.
“But I was happy when he smoked in the first episode because coming from a really hard home, his character would probably smoke. He had a lot of bad influences” (and again facetiously he adds) “but he’s the hero of the show, and cigarettes are incredibly addictive, and why have the hero smoking in the quintessential love scene.”
What was he like in high school?
“I was okay. I was fairly popular, a friendly kid. I got along well. I didn’t have any enemies. Most of my best friends didn’t go to my high school. They did in junior high, but in the ninth grade I became a serious surfer. I lived twenty minutes from the beach and as far as I was concerned if you lived twenty minutes inland you were a fucking nerd. You could only surf on the weekend, and that was really nerdy. To be a real surfer you had to surf everyday, which is what I did. The friends I met at the beach all went to various high schools around the county. I met them while surfing; so in a way it was my high school. Most of social life was centered around the beach. I basically went to school in the second row of the parking lot in La Jolla (a coastal town near San Diego)”
Was he the class clown in high school?
“I don’t remember anyone saying I was hilarious.”
Was he the kid who cracked up the class with his dry humor?
“Maybe. I don’t remember.”
What quality would be like to steal from Seth?
“This is a really boring answer, but I’d like to be as technically savvy as he is. I can’t turn on a computer. I’d love to be into that stuff. I can’t even bring myself to read a manual. I only know one button in my car, but to answer your question, they’re all good characters.” (then again facetiously) “I feel like I’m an inherently sweet and generous person and maybe Seth’s a little more so, so I would ascribe to be more like that.”
It must be hard for him not to be attracted to girls on the show?
“I am not going to go there.”
So how does he handle that?
“Cold showers, man,” he jokes.
What did he learn about kissing from the show?
Again, facetiously he answers,”I’m an awesome kisser so I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know. You know what I’m saying?”
No
“I’ve been making out since second grade; so it’s old hat for me. I don’t know if that’s true about the others, but the thing is, when you’re kissing on television the rule of thumb is, you don’t use tongue. But that’s just a rule of thumb. There is no law whatsoever.”
Does he double date with Benjamin?
Again facetiously he responds, “Yeah, we cruise the town. They call us the Wolf Pack. We just peruse, you know what I mean. And what’s awesome and what’s really easy is high school, because they love the show; so we’ll stop by a high school dance or a homecoming, and they flock to you like magnets.”
O.C. is the number one rated show among teens in the U.S
AND FOUR YEARS LATER
By Philip Berk
So just how much has Adam Brody grown in the past four years?
A lot.
He’s not as supercilious a wise-ass as he was when I first interviewed him.
But for good reason.
His screen persona has changed markedly. In fact in his new movie In the Land of Women he shows a maturity that will have critics comparing him to the young Tom Hanks.
And he’s better looking.
In the movie he plays a LA based softcore porn writer Carter who’s dumped by his girlfriend. Devastated. he travels to Michigan where he becomes involved with an older woman (played by Meg Ryan) and her teenage daughter.
One of Carter’s better qualities is he’s a good listener. Is he?
“I like to think so, but I talk a lot too. I imagine everyone fancies himself as a good listener. But I find women are great listeners and they’re great conversationalists too.”
What does he look for in a woman?
“I’d have to say that most of the women in my life have been very compassionate which is sort of soothing. If I’m sick I would rather have a girlfriend bring me soup than my buddy.”
He recently broke up with Rachel Bilson, his O.C. co-star.
For his generation Is marriage no longer an option?
“I don’t know if I’d say that, but when you consider the divorce rate, maybe you should hold off for a while until you’re willing to commit to something for the rest of your life. I was in a relationship and I am not looking to be in one or not be in one. I don’t really have a goal even though deep down everyone is looking to meet the most beautiful interesting person in the room and then spend time with them. That’s just a natural human emotion.”
But not forever?
“Look somebody said it the other day, and I agree. You should get married when you’re ready to have a kid. Until then there isn’t much point to it except the old notions of romance — it’s how much stock you put in that.”
How important is that?
“I consider myself a bit of a romantic so I would for that reason.”
You met Rachel on the set of The O.C. Now that you’re not working, how do you meet girls?
“I went to dive clubs almost exclusively before I was in relationships. It’s been five years, and all of a sudden they don’t hold the same allure. I am now going to the trendier clubs that are packed with women; so that’s been a fun time too, something I haven’t done in a while so I’m having a blast doing that and being a Hollywood sleaze ball.”
With the money he’s earned from The O.C. he’s bought a house in the Hollywood Hills? How many bedrooms?
“Technically three, but really two.”
Do you live alone?
“I have a room mate and a dog.”
What breed?
“She’s a pit bull, which is not really accurate. She’s a pit bull but she’s really a Lab. I mean, she’s got that full body wag, but she’s the sweetest, happiest… that name doesn’t really do her justice.”
And what do you have on your iPod?
“I got a lot. I’m getting very eclectic. I have a lot of indi rock stuff and stuff that’s from the O.C. A lot of 80’s stuff and then a lot of random Roy Orbison, AC/DC, and the Impressions. I am trying to mix up a little.”
You filmed the last episode of The O.C. in February. Have you kept in touch with Ben(jamin McKenzie)?
“Yeah, we’re very close.”
How often do you talk?
“We spoke last night. We’re going to meet up in New York. He’s there and I’m going to join him. Ben and I have always been close, but as the show was wrapping up we even became closer. Maybe we got nostalgic…”
And yet there must have been a time when you were getting more attention than Ben who was supposedly the star?
Angrily he responds, “It really pisses me off when I hear that because it was never like that. He was the lead, and at the end of the show he is still the lead. Most of the stories revolved around him. All I can say about him, and I really mean this, any attention I’ve gotten that was more than expected, he’s been nothing if not completely gracious about it. I don’t know what goes on in his deepest darkest moments, but I’ll say he’s never batted an eyelash in a negative way at me or anything. He’s never come across as anything but completely happy with my success, and I’ll always respect him for that.”
You’ve been ranked among the 100 Sexiest Men Alive, twice placed on Teen People’s 25 sexiest people under 25 .
Obviously you have a big teenage following. How do you deal with it?
“It’s interesting because the demographic that likes the show is a particularly vocal one. They’re very sweet. I try to be as accommodating as possible. I’m sure that’ll die down as I get older, and the show gets older, and they get older. It’s kind of like being a pop star. It’s very flattering, but I try not to read anything into it because I know it can be a very fickle thing.”
Does it worry him that it could all go away very quickly?
“Of course, but all you can do is do your best work, try your hardest, stay out of the limelight a little, but so much of that is out of your control. Certainly the people I admire tend to do good work, tend to minimize their involvement with US Weekly, and I think they’re more respected for it.”
How is handling life after the O.C. Is he happy?
“It’s funny you ask because I’ve been a little reflective lately abut the fact that I’ve lived in L.A. for eight years now. I’ve made friends here; so I completely consider this my home. I feel much more at home here than where I grew up (San Diego.) I’m surrounded by really great people. I am so proud to call my friends my friends. I’m really happy at the age I am. It’s a good time.”
He plays drums with a band. How serious is he?
“I am not a serious musician. It’s a total hobby. Some people play basketball on Sundays; I play drums.”
How good is he?
“I’ve gotten to the point where I am not embarrassed. I definitely don’t think I’m good, but what I lack in talent I make up in taste.”
EIGHT YEARS AGO HE MARRIED LEIGHTON MEESTER. THEY HAVE TWO CHILDREN