Skip to main content

The 8 best Adrien Brody movies to watch, from Oscar winners to hidden gems

Oscar-worthy movies and plenty of Wes Anderson feature in his catalogue

Adrien Brody attends 'The Brutalist' photocall at the Rosewood Villamagna Hotel on January 17, 2025 in Madrid, Spain.
OSCAR GONZALEZ FUENTES / Shutterstock

Adrien Brody’s career is one of the more interesting roller coasters of the 21st century. After winning the Academy Award for Best Actor at a record-breaking youthful age of 29, the Queens native was poised to dominate the decades of the 2000s and 2010s with his stylish charisma and measured approach to acting. Instead, Brody meandered through his 30s and 40s with a handful of solid to great performances without much fanfare or recognition.

If you have watched any Wes Anderson movies in the last 20 years, you would have likely seen Brody appear in some capacity. And while Anderson’s films fit Brody’s persona on screen, they didn’t allow him to capitalize on his superstar lead potential the way people expected. His most recent effort, The Brutalist, earned him a second Academy Award for Best Actor. Only a small handful of legends have achieved this feat, such as Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, and Tom Hanks. If you’re looking to catch up on some of his other great works, we have you covered. These are the best Adrien Brody movies to watch right away.

Recommended Videos

8. Blonde (2022)

8. Blonde
167m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale
Directed by
Andrew Dominik
Watch on Netflix
Blonde isn’t really Adrien Brody’s movie, but his performance as playwright Arthur Miller is a highlight of the biopic. This film is the story of Marilyn Monroe’s life, from her up-and-down career to her fascinating romantic flings with famous men that made headlines and added to her aura. The film was controversial for how accurately it depicted some of the more harrowing moments in Monroe’s timeline, but Ana de Armas was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for this movie. Brody shows he can play a supporting role or a lead role equally well with his appearance here.

7. Asteroid City (2023)

7. Asteroid City
105m
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks
Directed by
Wes Anderson
Watch on Amazon
Asteroid City had big expectations when it was on the summer movie docket in 2023. With a variety of Wes Anderson’s most famous muses, the movie was an all-star collaboration that featured Tom Hanks, Brody, and Scarlett Johansson, just to name a few. The plot follows a group of people who appear in a play about a stargazing event in the wake of the space race during the 1950s. There’s plenty of commentary on the time period with references to Cold War tension, the potential of aliens, and America’s general stress in the aftermath of World War II. A unique color palette and superb cinematography make this one of the better Anderson movies of late.

6. Splice (2010)

6. Splice
104m
Genre
Horror, Science Fiction
Stars
Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac
Directed by
Vincenzo Natali
Watch on max
Splice is a horror film that is more suited for a Halloween binge on the couch than a sophisticated night at the cinema, which is a nice change of pace for Brody. He plays a scientist who tries to splice together the genetic code of a human and an animal to make a hybrid organism. The results are as eerie as you can imagine. Sarah Polley gives a great supporting performance next to Brody in this science-fiction film that allowed the actor to work outside of his typical genre constraints and try new things at the end of the 2000s.

5. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
100m
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric
Directed by
Wes Anderson
Watch on Amazon
The Grand Budapest Hotel features many of the same Wes Anderson names that we’ve mentioned many times already with some other big actors such as F. Murray Abraham. The plot of the film works as a murder mystery, as the characters at the hotel try to identify the killer who slays one of the mistresses of the main character played by Ralph Fiennes. This is one of the most decorated films in Anderson and Brody’s portfolios.

4. The French Dispatch (2021)

4. The French Dispatch
108m
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Stars
Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton
Directed by
Wes Anderson
Watch on Hulu
The French Dispatch is a collection of stories surrounding the journalists of an American newspaper that operates out of a location in France in the 1970s. An anthology that strives to connect the different characters through their individual journeys, the plot turns into something greater than the sum of its parts. Tilda Swinton and Owen Wilson are perhaps the biggest stars here.

3. King Kong (2005)

3. King Kong
187m
Genre
Adventure, Drama, Action
Stars
Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody
Directed by
Peter Jackson
Watch on Netflix
King Kong is one of the biggest movies of Adrien Brody’s career and it capitalized on both Brody’s critical success at the Oscars just three years earlier and director Peter Jackson’s fame from The Lord of the Rings. The classic story of a gigantic ape who falls in love with a gorgeous actress, Brody plays the man who saves her from the clutches of Kong … but why does she even need saving? A love story grounded in decades of tradition, this movie is the epitome of Jackson’s long-winded portrayals of fiction, but any movie fan from the 2000s will tell you it’s worth your time.

2. The Brutalist (2024)

2. The Brutalist
215m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce
Directed by
Brady Corbet
Watch on Amazon
Brody’s most recent Oscar-winning performance sees him playing a Holocaust survivor who must figure out where he belongs in America after surviving the most horrific human rights atrocity of the 20th century. Most World War II movies and Holocaust stories are awards-bait, but The Brutalist is truly a delicate and thought-provoking film about the trauma and aftermath experienced by so many Jewish people in the years after escaping Europe.

1. The Pianist (2002)

1. The Pianist
150m
Genre
Drama, War
Stars
Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay
Directed by
Roman Polanski
Watch on Amazon
If The Brutalist shows Brody’s ability to depict the journey of a Holocaust victim post-war, The Pianist shows that story during the thick of the battle. He plays a talented musician who uses his abilities to cope with bloodshed as he traverses Warsaw while his country hangs on for dear life during World War II. This will probably always be Brody’s most famous role.
Movie images and data from:
Shawn Laib
Shawn Laib is a freelance writer with publications such as Den of Geek, Quote.com, Edge Media Network, diaTribe, SUPERJUMP…
Top picks for April: The best movies on Paramount+
Though a newer entry to the streaming world, Paramount+ has some good picks
Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick

Paramount Plus is one of the newer arrivals on the streaming scene, and while its roster is rolling out plenty of exciting streaming original and acquired shows, there are plenty of movies on Paramount Plus that are worth exploring. From the classic to the current and from the vintage to the very new, Paramount+ offers an excellent movie lineup that rivals any other streaming service, even Netflix.
That might seem hard to believe, but between its library of classic titles and the fact that Paramount still puts new movies out every year, there are few services that offer you more bang for your buck. Personally, I could spend all day perusing the streaming service without running out of interesting things to watch.

Interstellar (2014)

Read more
9 best Walton Goggins TV shows: From Justified to The Righteous Gemstones
Google Goggins and you'll find a show you love
Walton Goggins in The White Lotus season 3

My favorite type of actor is the one where I'm watching my new favorite show, and they appear on the screen, and I immediately tell my brother (who happens to be my go-to TV-watching partner), "It's that guy!" No name, no recollection of where I've seen him before. "He's in everything!" This is the best compliment someone can give an actor when they star in a new project. Sure, it's probably fun to be Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington, but those superstars almost devour the characters they play. It's sometimes a disservice to a story when the actors are so famous that they can't help but overshadow the role they're playing.

Walton Goggins is the ultimate "I know him!" TV actor of the 21st century. This man is a chameleon to the highest degree. Goggins transforms from a bitter boomer on a vacation to a transgender motorcycle mama in the blink of an eye. His talents have finally garnered him the recognition he deserves. Before he outgrows his discreet status as TV's most versatile performer, it's time to collect all of his best TV shows into one nice package. After reading this list you'll finally be able to put a name to his face when he's in another great show. These are the best Walton Goggins TV shows.

Read more
Discover the best Disney+ movies to watch this April
If you're a Disney+ member, stream these movies this month
Princess Bride

Disney is arguably the most iconic entertainment brand in the world. The company's properties, both original and acquired, combine to produce content that transcends age demographics. Disney has built a brand that's beloved by children, and those children eventually age into adults who introduce their kids to the films they loved when they were young. Disney's animation alone has made it iconic, but in recent years, the company has also acquired some of the biggest pieces of intellectual property there are. And with Disney Plus available on any device, you can watch all these movies whenever you want.

Between its acquisitions of both Marvel and Star Wars, there's a good chance that Disney is shepherding whatever you love to screens, both large and small. When it launched Disney+, the company was sure to fill it with both those nostalgic animated classics and plenty of new stuff as well. If, like me, you've ever felt a twinge of nostalgia for the Disney movies you loved as a kid, they're all there. Just as importantly, though, you can find movies that will resonate with you today in ways they didn't as a kid. Whatever you're looking for, you can probably find it on Disney+.

Read more