The Best Adrien Brody Movies (and Where to Stream Them)
Adrien Brody has made a name for himself as one of the best living actors of our time. With a career spanning from the late 1980s to today, Brody is known for his ability to play a wide range of characters, from the eccentric surrealist painter Salvador Dalí in Midnight in Paris to his Oscar-winning performance as a survivor of the horrors of the Holocaust in The Pianist.
In his latest film The Brutalist, Brody plays a famous Hungarian Jewish architect who must rebuild his life and career from scratch after fleeing to the the United States during the second World War. His performance has been nominated for an Academy Award, so what better time to take a look at some of Adrien Brody’s best movies to date and find out where you can stream them below!
The Pianist
Adrien Brody won an Oscar for Best Actor at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003 for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman, a Polish Jewish pianist who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and the destruction of World War II in Warsaw. Brody prepared for the role by dropping a significant amount of weight to appear emaciated and mastering some of Chopin’s most complex pieces so that his hands could be seen playing the piano. At 29, he became the youngest Best Actor winner to date.
The Brutalist
Brody was nominated again for Best Actor Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025 for his role as László Tóth, a fictional Hungarian Jewish architect who flees with his wife to the United States to find that he is an unknown again and must work to establish himself in a hostile new country. But after a chance encounter with a millionaire, his luck and life change forever.
Midnight in Paris
Midnight in Paris is a 2011 film starring Owen Wilson as Gil, a screenwriter visiting Paris with his fiancée and her family. As his uncertainty about the relationship grows, he finds himself able to be transported back in time to the 1920s where he hobnobs with some of the most well-known artists and intellectuals of the time. In his small but memorable role, Adrien Brody plays the surrealist painter Salvador Dalí to exuberant effect, complete with moustache twirling and wide-eyed chat about rhinoceroses.
The Darjeeling Limited
This Wes Anderson comedy-drama from 2007 tells the story of brothers Jack (Jason Schwartzman), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Francis (Owen Wilson) who go on a journey across India together in order to heal their relationships in the aftermath of their father’s death. Brody demonstrates both heartfelt emotion and brings his comedic chops to the role as the brothers struggle to reconcile.
Detachment
This 2011 drama sees Brody star as Henry Barthes, a substitute English teacher who takes a one-month position in a low-performing high school. As he gains their trust and respect, he helps the students face both personal and academic challenges that change both his life and the lives of the students. For the role, Brody is able to put his full dramatic prowess on display.
Summer of Sam
This 1999 drama tells the story of two childhood friends living in an Italian-American neighbourhood in The Bronx in 1977 when the Son of Sam serial killer was on the loose. As the killings continue throughout the summer, the friends also contend with relationship struggles and their own growing differences. Brody plays one of the friends, Ritchie, who returns after some time away with a new punk style that makes some in the neighbourhood grow suspicious of him.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Set in the 1930s, Grand Budapest tells the story of Gustave, the hotel concierge who provides first-class service to all the guests but finds himself framed for murder. In one of his many collaborations with filmmaker Wes Anderson, Brody plays Dmitri, the villainous son of the owner of the Grand Budapest Hotel. Brody brings a wicked flare to the role, proving he’s more than capable of playing the villain.
The Village
In M Night Shyamalan's 2004 horror film, Brody plays one of the inhabitants in an isolated village in 19th century Pennsylvania whose members live in fear of the creatures living in the surrounding woods. In a story in which reality and myth are blended in order to control the population, Brody plays a key role in the reaffirmation of the villagers’ fears.
The French Dispatch
In another collaboration with Wes Anderson, Brody plays eclectic art dealer Julien Cadazio. The film is divided into five parts, and Brody appears in the second, The Concrete Masterpiece, as the art dealer serving a sentence in the Ennui prison with the artist Moses Rosenthaler. Here Brody gives a slapstick performance as he attempts to remove Rosenthaler’s frescos from the prison walls to bring them to a private collection.
Asteroid City
Wes Anderson’s 2023 spacey tale is set in the 1950s in a small desert town where a Junior Stargazer convention is taking place. As the attendees descend upon the town of Asteroid City, an unexpected alien visit upends the convention and their lives. Brody plays a small role in the film as the director of the play, Schubert Green, whose deteriorating relationship with his wife causes him to live in the studio for the entire run of the production.
Where to watch Adrien Brody movies streaming online
Find out how (and where) to stream Adrien Brody movies online by scrolling down to the list below. The films are all available to stream online across a variety of platforms in the United Kingdom, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ITVX and more!
