Adrien Brody: I do my movie homework

Adrien Brody thinks it's "unfair" to present the audience with something he doesn't believe in.

In 2002 he appeared in The Pianist, which won him the best actor Oscar at the ceremony the following year.

He played the part of Polish Wladyslaw Szpilman, a pianist and classical composer, who managed to survive the World War II Holocaust.

"Not many experiences in my professional career are comparable to that," Adrien admitted to Collider. "Roman [Polanski, director] is profound and his discipline is really contagious.

"Obviously I had such an immense responsibility in portraying Szpilman and what that represented to the world... I already had a very strong work ethic, I was very disciplined with my work - I need to do all the homework for me to feel connected, to feel truthful. I don't think it's fair for me to ask the audience to believe it if I don't believe it."

His next project is thriller Emperor, which is directed by The Devil's Double's Lee Tamahori. He takes on the lead in the flick about a young girl who seeks revenge on the holy roman Emperor Charles V for the death of her father.

"It's an epic endeavour, it's very exciting - Lee is a wonderful guy. He's got a real unique voice," he gushed.

"The fight sequences, we work extensively on those and they look epic. [We] trained for weeks on sword fight choreography that looks remarkable. [Lee] puts a lot of thought into the preparation for that."

Currently there is no release date for Emperor.