Adrien Brody was born and raised in Queens, New York.
Brody is, by family, mostly Jewish. His mother, famous photojournalist Sylvia Plachy, was half-Jewish, half-Catholic[1] And his father is fully Jewish, descended from Poland. Apparently, Brody considers himself both Jewish and Catholic.[2]
That being the case, it stands to reason that he's not all that devout in either faith. A Washington Times article confirms this, saying that he was raised without a strong connection to either Judaism or Catholicism, though they offer no basis from which to make that claim.[3]
Brody won an Academy Award for his performance in the film, The Piano. In the film, he played a Polish Jew who barely escaped the Holocaust and lived out the war, half-starved and destitute in an abandoned Warsaw ghetto. You would think this film–easily Brody's crowning achievement–would bring out the Jew in him. But not really. He said of his role:
I feel it's such a profound loss for so many people that if you're remotely empathetic, and you do the preparation, then you don't have to have any Jewish heritage to relate.[4]
So, non-religious it is.
Who am I? Just a regular guy
Researching Brody reveals an artist's soul. He is well known for going great lengths to prepare for his roles. And most of his comments in interviews revolve around the art of acting. One gets the sense he thinks of himself as just a guy doing a job, and doing it well, and he's got little time for things like religion and politics. He said:
You get a little fame as an actor and suddenly people ask your opinion on world politics and why we're in Iraq. Why is my opinion any more valid than anyone else's? My opinion doesn't count more just because I'm famous now.[5]
On the other hand, he did a film called Back to 1942 about the starvation of millions of people in China. During interviews about the film, he expressed pride and even a sense of responsibility as an actor to do "socially relevant films."[6]
In terms of partisan politics, his one and only campaign contribution was to a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives from Kentucky, Nick Clooney,[7] George Clooney's father. It might have been a little Hollywood insider business there, but who knows, maybe Brody is particularly concerned with Kentucky politics.
He seems a bit left-of-center, so Brody might have agreed with Clooney's politics. Brody has said he has no problem hanging out in a "gay establishment,"
Obviously I'm not there to pick up anybody, but I'm not afraid to hang out in a predominantly gay establishment.[8]
So, nothing too conclusive, but some evidence for liberal Democrat. However, all in all, probably a non-political tag for Brody.
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