They say that winning an Oscar can be a career-boosting milestone for an actor, but that certainly wasn't the case for Adrien Brody after his 2003 victory for "The Pianist." Instead of a string of high-quality roles, he went on to star in a seemingly endless number of dubious films, including "Predators," "The Experiment," "Back to 1942," "American Heist," "September of Shiraz," "Ghosted," "Fool's Paradise," and "Air Strike." So, will his second Oscar finally pave the way for a more satisfying set of roles?
In December of last year, Brody admitted that he had yet to accept a new role following his Best Actor Oscar win, turning down numerous offers because he was being very selective. His next project was supposed to be S. Craig Zahler's "The Bookie and the Bruiser," which was set to go into production in April 2025; he had signed on for that role many months before his Oscar win. However, he suddenly decided to drop out of the film, which delayed Zahler's project by over a year until Theo James came in as Brody's replacement. My best guess is that Brody exited 'Bookie' because he didn't want that project to be his first post-Oscar vehicle—just a hunch. He was also reportedly in talks to star in Damien Chazelle's "Evel Knievel on Tour," but when Leonardo DiCaprio dropped out, that project was scrapped as well.
Now, almost a year and a half after the Oscar, Brody has finally signed on to star in something new. According to Deadline, he's set to join Rachel Zegler in leading "Last Dance," a new drama from Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz. The film follows Broadway composer Elliot, played by Brody, who takes his daughter Emma, played by Zegler, on a gay Caribbean cruise in 1991 while secretly grappling with AIDS. Ben Platt will co-star, contribute original music, and Zegler will perform songs written for the film. The screenplay comes from Emily Ziff Griffin, adapted from her autobiographical 2021 New Yorker article.
I'm not convinced this project is "the one" for Brody. He should have stayed on with Zahler. Aïnouz is not a filmmaker I'd tag along with if I were actually being "picky" with my roles. Aïnouz was a mainstay at the Cannes Film Festival, winning Un Certain Regard with "The Invisible Life" in 2019, but his last three films, "Firebrand," "Motel Destino," and "Rosebushpruning," were not that well-received, and quite honestly, the synopsis for "Last Dance" sounds pretty bad.
"Last Dance" is supposed to start production this fall. A 2027 release is a real possibility. Best of luck to Adrien.
