Adrien Brody finds magic "mischievous".
The 40-year-old actor became fascinated with the mystical practice from a young age. Now he is set to play iconic illusionist Harry Houdini in an upcoming TV miniseries, which has allowed him to learn more about his passion and idol.
“There’s a mischievousness and symbolic quality to magic - the doing of the seemingly impossible and the inherent defiance - that makes it especially appealing to little boys," Adrien explained to the latest issue of Manhattan magazine. “Harry Houdini is one of my heroes and has been since childhood, not only because he was the greatest magician and escape artist of all time, who escaped the confines of chains onstage, but because of his fearless, adventurous nature. He also escaped the chains of poverty and bigotry - and his audiences and the public understood this grand metaphor.”
Adrien was born and raised in the Queens area of New York. It was his photographer mother Sylvia Plachy's camera expertise that inspired him and made him learn more about his surroundings.
“I’m blessed [that] my mother’s a photographer. She finds the beauty, sadness and truth around us that many miss, especially when they’re not right on the surface and readily apparent,” he smiled. “There’s no better place to observe human nature, to study it, to be educated by it, than the street life of New York."
The handsome star has also been involved with fashion during his career. In 2012 he walked the runway for designer label Prada alongside fellow actor Gary Oldman. Adrien was in awe of the screen icon and tried to impress him while wearing a red overcoat and sunglasses.
“I mean, come on, it’s Gary, so of course I’m going to think power and strength, and darkness and Dracula, and of course I’m going to have some fun with it and create a narrative. With every step I thought: 'Off with your head,'" Adrien recalled fondly.
