Adam Brody

Early life

Brody was born in San Diego, California to Valerie Jill (née Siefman), a graphic artist, and Mark Alan Brody, an attorney. He has younger twin brothers, Sean and Matthew (born 1985). His parents, both Jewish, are originally from Detroit, Michigan, and Brody had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.

Brody attended Wangenheim Middle School and Scripps Ranch High School, receiving "poor grades", and grew up in suburban San Diego, where he spent his time surfing. He has said that he "pretty much lived at the beach". Brody attended community college for one year, dropped out at the age of nineteen, and moved to Hollywood in order to become an actor. He subsequently hired an acting coach and signed with a talent manager.

Acting career

After a year of training and auditioning, Brody landed the role of Barry Williams in the television film Growing Up Brady (2000). He also appeared in the Canadian comedy series The Sausage Factory. In 2001, he played a minor role in American Pie 2. Brody's first major role in a television series came in 2002, when he was cast in a recurring role on the comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls, portraying Dave Rygalski, Lane's bandmate and love interest.

In 2003, he appeared in the feature film Grind, and the music video for "Too Bad About Your Girl" by The Donnas. The same year, Brody was cast in his breakout role as Seth Cohen on the teen drama series The O.C.. Brody is reported to have improvised some of the character's comedic dialogue. The role turned him into a teen idol, with the character having been described by the Los Angeles Times as "TV's sexiest geek" and by Time as having "redefined" the screen persona of "unapologetic" nerdiness. Brody was the first male on the cover of Elle Girl.

In 2005, Brody appeared in a supporting role alongside Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and played a Hollywood studio assistant in the film adaptation of Thank You for Smoking (2006). His next film role was in the romantic comedy In the Land of Women (2007), starring Meg Ryan and Kristen Stewart. Brody played a writer who returns to his mother's Michigan hometown in order to take care of his sick grandmother. He did not have to audition for the part, but was almost unable to appear in the film because of scheduling conflicts with the second season of The O.C.; the film's director pushed filming back eight months because he wanted Brody to star. The O.C. ended its run in 2007 after four seasons. Brody had said that he was "not unhappy" with the show's cancellation, and that although he was "fortunate" to be on a successful series, he was also glad to "not be on it for 10 years".

After the end of The O.C.'s run, Brody turned to a full-time film career. The same year, Brody appeared in supporting roles in the films Smiley Face and The Ten. In 2009, he co-starred with Josh Lucas in Boaz Yakin's drama Death in Love, and in Diablo Cody's horror film Jennifer's Body, co-starring Megan Fox. In 2010, he appeared in Kevin Smith's film Cop Out, which co-starred Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, and then in The Romantics alongside Katie Holmes and Josh Duhamel. In July 2010, it was announced that Brody landed the role of Detective Hoss in Scream 4, released in April 2011. In 2011, Brody voiced Woodie in the MTV animated series Good Vibes. The same year, Brody appeared in The Oranges alongside Leighton Meester and Hugh Laurie.

In January 2012, it was announced that he had joined the cast of Lovelace a biopic about the late 1970s porn star Linda Lovelace, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and starring Amanda Seyfried. Brody portrayed Harry Reems. He then co-starred with Meester again in Life Partners (2014). In 2015, he appeared in Sleeping with Other People, and began starring as Billy Jones in Direct TV's sitcom Billy and Billie.

Other works

Aside from acting, Brody is credited as a musician and writer, stating that he "writes screenplays and songs during [his] spare time". In 2003, Brody wrote and produced the short film Home Security.

In 2005, Brody, along with Nathaniel Castro, Bret Harrison and Brad Babinski, formed the Los Angeles-based rock band Big Japan, with Brody as lead drummer. Big Japan's first release, Music for Dummies, was digitally released through Nightshift Records on August 23, 2005. The four-piece indie band played gigs at pubs and festivals from 2005 to 2007 such as The Knitting Factory, Bamboozle Left, The Roxy, Spaceland and The Viper Room.

In 2007, he, along with Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, co-wrote a comic book miniseries for DC's Wildstorm Comics titled Red Menace. The limited series had six issues and was collected into a trade paperback. Since 2010, Brody has played the drums in the project band The Shortcoats. They released their first EP, This Time Last Year, on October 4, 2011. Their song, "Morning, Shipwreck", which Brody co-wrote, is featured in the sitcom Ben and Kate and in the 2015 film The Meddler.

Personal life

Brody is a secular Jew and is non-religious. He has described himself as being a "faux intellectual" and "beach mood" person.

In March 2010, Brody met actress Leighton Meester while filming The Oranges in Westchester, New York. They became engaged in November 2013, and married in a private ceremony on February 15, 2014. They welcomed their first child, a daughter named Arlo Day Brody, on August 4, 2015 in Whittier, California.