Actor Adam Brody rose to fame in the early 2000s. He quickly became a famous face on American television. After his breakout role, Brody followed up with a diverse array of roles in film and television. Beyond acting, Brody enjoys working on projects as a writer and musician.
After a two-year break from television, Adam Brody returns to co-star alongside Kristen Bell in the Netflix rom-com series Nobody Wants This. In the series, Brody plays Noah, an unconventional Jewish rabbi. Nobody Wants This has been a critical success since its release. For newer generation audiences who might not recognize the actor, here’s everything to know about Adam Brody.
Adam Brody’s Early Life
Although an incredible actor, Adam Brody fits right in with his Nobody Wants This character as the actor was born and raised Jewish. Although he considers himself a secular Jew, both of Brody’s parents are Jewish, and celebrated Hanukkah throughout Brody’s growing years. The actor also had a bar mitzvah. Although his parents are originally from Detroit, Michigan, Adam Brody was born in San Diego, California, on December 15, 1979. Brody spent all his growing years in California, attending Wangenheim Middle School and Scripps Ranch High School. After graduation, Brody enrolled at MiraCosta College. However, at age 19, he opted to drop out to pursue his acting passion in Hollywood.
Adam Brody’s Early Career
Adam Brody had made his acting debut three years before he dropped out of college. The possibilities and opportunities it presented were some of the factors he considered before dropping out of college. His earliest roles include playing a student in the 1999 crime action movie Random Acts of Violence. His first notable role came a year after moving to Hollywood.
Brody portrayed Barry Williams in the 2000 made-for-television biographical movie Growing Up Brady. With the movie based on Barry Williams and Chris Kreski’s 1992 autobiography Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg, Brody led the cast playing the character. The movie centered around the production of the popular late-60s to mid-70s ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch. Actress Kaley Cuoco portrayed actress Maureen McCormick in the 2000 Growing Up Brady.
He spent the next few years guest-starring in several other TV shows and movies. Brody appeared in Judging Amy (2000), Undressed (2000), and Once and Again (2000–2001). He also starred in The Sausage Factory (2000–2002), Smallville (2002), Grounded for Life (2001–2004). In movies, he played American Pie 2 (2001), The Ring (2002), and Grind (2003).
Adam Brody’s Breakout Roles
Adam Brody joined the cast of the award-winning The WB dramedy series Gilmore Girls in season 3. He made his debut in episode 3 (“Application Anxiety”) as Dave Rygalski. He responded to Lane Kim’s (Keiko Agena) Hep Alien band ad and became its guitarist. With Gilmore Girls’ success, the show gave Brody the needed exposure. He left Gilmore Girls in 2003 after being cast as Seth Cohen in Fox’s teen drama The O.C. Brody’s Dave Rygalski character was written off by sending him to college in California.
Adam Brody’s casting as Seth Cohen in The O.C. became his career-defining role. Seth was one of the major characters in the show, including Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), and Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). In The O.C., Brody’s Seth Cohen was known for his quirky, sarcastic, self-proclaimed geek. The character’s arc centered around his relationship with Ryan Atwood and Summer Roberts. Ryan was introduced as a troubled teen who later became Seth’s adoptive brother. He had a longtime crush on Summer but later became a romantic interest and husband in the series finale.
Adam Brody’s Other Notable Roles
Having made a name for himself with The O.C., Adam Brody landed several other notable roles in film and television. One such role was as Benjamin “the Tank” Danz in the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie-led action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Brody’s character is a DIA prisoner whom the Smiths were individually contracted to kill. Mr. & Mrs. Smith was a Box Office hit, grossing $487.3 million on a $110 million budget. That same year, Brody starred in the satirical black comedy Thank You for Smoking.
Brody co-led the 2007 romantic comedy-drama In the Land of Women alongside Kristen Stewart. He spent the rest of the 2000s appearing in notable films, including Death in Love (2008) and Jennifer’s Body (2009). In the 2010s, he starred in Cop Out (2010), Damsels in Distress (2011), Scream 4 (2011), Lovelace (2013), and Shazam! (2019). A few of his recent prominent credits include Curfew (2019), Single Parents (2019–2020), The Kid Detective (2020), Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) and American Fiction (2023).
He’s Married to Actress Leighton Meester
Adam Brody married Leighton Meester on February 15, 2014. Their marriage has produced two children, a daughter and a son. Brody and Meester first met in March 2020 on the set of the rom-com The Oranges. The couple celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in 2024. Leighton Meester is famous for playing Blair Waldorf in The CW’s teen drama Gossip Girl. Adam Brody’s relationship with Meester isn’t his first publicized relationship, as Brody dated his fellow The O.C. co-star Rachel Bilson from 2003 to 2006. Bilson played Brody’s character’s love interest, Summer Roberts, on the show. Besides these facts about Adam Brody, here’s everything to know about his wife, Leighton Meester.
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