Adrien Brody is an Academy Award-winning actor known for his extreme commitment to his roles and projects throughout his career, but what many may not know is that he’s also a producer and a musician. With his latest project, “Clean,” he’s able to flex all of those muscles simultaneously as he not only stars in and produces the film, but he also co-wrote the script and composed the score.
“Clean” follows a rehabilitated garbage man with a dark, violent, and troubled past who is pulled back into a criminal underworld after taking a young girl under his wing. It stars Adrien Brody, Glenn Fleshler (“Joker” & “Billions”), Richie Merritt (“White Boy Rick”), and newcomer Chandler DuPont.
While speaking with Adrien Brody, he shared why “Clean” ended up becoming his first real writing project.
“I love the [crime] genre, I love the space. What I was hoping to do was find a way to infuse a kind of sensibility that goes beyond that so that there’s a real character that’s complex and feels very flawed and human,” said Brody. “And that the storyline isn’t merely entertaining but references a lot of what’s going on in the world around us. The injustice and inequality that we’re all seeing in this great nation and I hadn’t quite found it or that role hasn’t come my way, so I had to set out to do that.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a chat about Brody’s career without at least mentioning Wes Anderson. And while Brody is tight-lipped on the upcoming “Asteroid City,” he was overflowing with love for the beloved filmmaker.
“Wes is such a remarkable human being,” he said. “I love him and he’s just such a wonderful person and a tremendous artist with tremendous vision and a unique creative spirit with tenacity and specificity that is so indelibly his. To get to be a part of that, you know, that’s why some of the greatest actors of our time will come and show up to do a little bit with him. It’s just such a remarkable thing to be a part of and you know that he’s going to create something that is a triumph and an achievement. And those characters are all so fun and unique. I’m so thankful to Wes. He and Rian Johnson were the first two filmmakers to allow me to do comedic work and hire me in that capacity.”
The subject of superhero blockbusters also comes up in the conversation, and Adrien mentions having discussions, perhaps recently, about taking on a role in those types of films and if he’d ever be interested.
“Yeah, I’ve had conversations,” Brody revealed. “I’m good with anything as long as I relate to it or I can find something meaningful to make out of it. I mean, I’ve played Luca Changretta (his character in ‘Peaky Blinders‘) and that’s not a superhero, but he sure is a supervillain and it’s fun. It’s really fun.”
IFC Films will release the crime/thriller “Clean” in theaters and everywhere you rent and buy movies on January 28. You can listen to the full discussion below:
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