Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Episode: Adrien Brody
Date: February 12, 2025

Overview

This episode features Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody in a wide-ranging conversation with Rick Rubin. The discussion explores Brody's process and philosophy around acting, storytelling, empathy, and transformation. He shares personal anecdotes from his upbringing in New York, his experiences with renowned directors, his approach to character work, and the impact of inhabiting diverse roles. The episode delves also into Brody’s creative life beyond film, including painting and music, and touches on the lasting significance of people and places that shaped his art.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Acting as Empathy and Understanding

Adrien Brody describes the core of acting as a practice in non-judgment and empathy.

“You have to come from a place of non judgment. You have to separate your belief system. You have to find validity to another person's choices and actions…someone may do something quite despicable and yet they're not a despicable person.”
— Adrien Brody [00:02]
Human Flaws
Noted by both Rick and Adrien, all humans are flawed, and part of Brody’s work is accessing and understanding those complexities.

“All humans are flawed.” — Rick Rubin [01:04]
“That's right. That's right.” — Adrien Brody [01:06]

Carrying Characters Home

On taking work home: Brody confesses that while he is himself at the end of the day, the character’s struggles can linger and shape his emotional state.

“Sometimes I need to be immersed in that and lost in that to preserve it and to protect it… for most of my career, I've felt somehow an obligation to carry the suffering beyond. And I think there's a degree of suffering that's necessary for the work, but not beyond and not to…hold on to out of fear that you're not going to honor that suffering in the work. And it's taken a lot of work and…living to know that it's accessible enough. And then you don't have to torture yourself to be tortured in certain moments. And that's a. A huge discovery. It's. It's quite liberating.”
— Adrien Brody [01:18–04:13]

The Joy—And Risk—of Artistic Failure

On roles and challenges:

“I think I can play much more than other people think I can play. I don't know if I would want to play any and every character. But the joy and the purpose of being an actor, frankly, is to be a chameleon and to be malleable and shift into something different... it's so much more interesting to not just repeat and do something that feels like it's not going to inspire you.”
— Adrien Brody [04:18–05:36]

Collaborating with Directors: Unique Approaches

Directors’ varied methods: Brody describes influential directors, contrasting Ken Loach’s withholding of script information to elicit real reactions ([09:10]), with Wes Anderson’s animatics and precise style ([11:45]).
- “Ken Loach wouldn’t give me the end of a scene... so I’d have actual dialogue... but then another actor would be given his dialogue or his notes from... Ken... And he uses this technique primarily because he deals with non actors.”
  — Adrien Brody [09:10]
- “Wes Anderson... will use animatics, which are these moving storyboards, and he will act out the characters at pace, at a style, and with a kind of frenetic energy that he is looking for.”
  — Adrien Brody [11:45]
The importance of trust and openness:

“The joy is working with people that you like and trust their interpretation, whether it's different from your own. You say, I can do that. It's not what I was thinking I would do, but I can make that feel truthful...”
— Adrien Brody [12:54]
Notable moment revealing Brody and Rubin’s mutual respect:

“When I did get to meet you, you were very generous of spirit... and just those things don't go unnoticed, especially with the world being as it is and how precarious it all is.”
— Adrien Brody to Rick Rubin [05:43–07:45]

The Rhythm of Takes and the Magic of the Unexpected

The “one for luck” take:

“I learned one from Peter Jackson where we'd shoot it and then he'd get it and he'd be satisfied... and he'd go, let's do one for luck. And I will always ask for one for luck. ...Sometimes something magic can happen.”
— Adrien Brody [13:34–14:21]
On varying performances:

“In general, how different would you say your performance would be from take to take?”
— Rick Rubin [14:25]
“Oh, vastly, vastly. ...They're just going to be different choices. And at some point, one feels really right. And you hope the director selects those and the editor selects those in the cut.”
— Adrien Brody [14:32]

The Tools of an Actor: Words, Improv, Physicality, and Costume

The feeling over dialogue:

“The feeling and the connection is first. Sometimes not having to say words is freeing. And if the words are really beautiful, sometimes they will spur more emotion and feeling. That's where dialect work is so important.”
— Adrien Brody [16:56]
On ad-libbing:

“If a director's open to me improvising, I'm often ad libbing... it brings textures and feelings and I like them as bridges, I like them as intros and filling the space sometimes. And I like what it does to my fellow actor because then they're not waiting for something very specific...”
— Adrien Brody [17:53]
Theater’s immersiveness: Brody reflects on returning to the stage, the pressure of live performance, unpredictability, and communion with the audience.

“It's pretty intense, pretty immersive and a lot of pressure... some nights there. It was quite wonderful that you really had this communion with them... and that fuels you. And then some nights people are, who are in the light ...are less accessible to you... But I always found the nights that I connected... such a rewarding thing that I go home with that and they go home with that and, and theater is very interesting because it's, you gotta leave it all on there and then it's gone.”
— Adrien Brody [20:34–22:46]
On physical transformation and costume:

“I had to depict a man who experienced starvation. And so I went down to £129. I was hardly even drinking water. ...And then when I did Predators... I got jacked for that. ...I put on 20 something pounds of muscle. It was serious. I was the best shape of my life.”
— Adrien Brody [86:19–88:46]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On learning craft from a young age:

“My mother had an assignment to photograph the American Academy of Dramatic Arts when I was 11 or something. And she had the intuition to know that I was already an actor... I was different as a kid. I was much more outgoing. I was fearless and curious and extremely imaginative.”
— Adrien Brody [56:40]
On being shaped by New York:

“The sea of humanity in New York that I was in the midst of gave me every character and interesting expression and interaction and from every socioeconomic background and you name it, New York is just so full of life and uniqueness.”
— Adrien Brody [48:53]
On graffiti and street art culture:

“A lot of my art today is deeply inspired by graffiti, and I have my graffiti culture all woven throughout it. And, you know, taking the trains to school, I observed the interesting qualities of people, and I read the walls. ...That's all part of growing up in a city.”
— Adrien Brody [80:55]
On transformation through art:

“Would you say that the characters you've played have changed you in any way?”
— Rick Rubin [74:21]
“Definitely. Have lived many lives, I've died many times. I've had to put myself in other people's shoes a lot... all of those stories and experiences that you share and receive are shaping you each thing you encounter. And so I always joke, it beats working for a living.”
— Adrien Brody [74:26–76:13]
On magic as entry to performance:

“I loved it. And I, I always look back at it as something that was my gateway drug into acting.”
— Adrien Brody [65:05]

Timestamps for Major Segments

[00:02] Empathy in acting and non-judgment
[01:18] Does the work follow Adrien home?
[04:18] Limits and opportunities in playing characters
[05:43] Working with directors / Rick and Adrien’s personal connection
[09:10–13:28] Contrasting directorial styles (Ken Loach, Wes Anderson, others)
[14:32] Performance differences from take to take
[16:56] The primacy of feeling in a performance
[17:53] The role of ad-libbing / improvisation
[19:31] Adrien’s theater background and recent experiences
[24:26] Getting involved in "The Brutalist"
[27:57] Collaborations enhancing or diminishing performance
[33:28] Research and dialect work for "The Brutalist"
[36:45] Learning Hungarian dialect; shooting in Hungary
[41:07] Portraying fictional vs. real people (e.g., Pat Riley, Vladislav Spielman)
[43:44] Cinematic awareness versus just ‘acting’
[48:53] Observational skills and mannerisms from life
[55:09] The importance of costumes for character
[56:40–61:03] Early influences; family’s role in Adrien's creative development
[63:37] Magic, acting, and performing as a child
[65:45] Portraying Houdini
[69:09] How well does Adrien know a character before shooting?
[70:51] Film versus script—final interpretation and creative autonomy
[72:30] Painting as creative fulfillment
[78:04] New York childhood and cultural impact
[80:55] Graffiti culture and its influence on art
[82:38] Desire to direct, early directing experiences
[85:49] Dream roles: a deep love story
[86:19] Biggest physical transformations for roles
[88:59] Evolution of Adrien’s approach to acting over time
[90:08] Rhythm, music, and performance (noting influence from Tupac, Mickey Rourke)
[93:42] Bombing with Tupac on set of Bullet

Conclusion & Tone

Throughout the conversation, Brody’s tone is thoughtful, candid, and reflective, often blending humor with vulnerability. He speaks with genuine humility about his career, creative impulses, and the ongoing process of learning—both as an artist and as a person.

He closes with:

“Tetragrammatin is a podcast. Tetragrammatin is a website. Tetragrammatin is a whole world of knowledge.”
— Adrien Brody [94:25]

This episode offers an insider’s look at the artistic journey of Adrien Brody—an actor fueled by childhood imagination, urban vibrancy, creative risk, and a deep search for empathy and connection through his work.

Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Episode: Adrien Brody
Date: February 12, 2025

Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Acting as Empathy and Understanding

Adrien Brody describes the core of acting as a practice in non-judgment and empathy.

“You have to come from a place of non judgment. You have to separate your belief system. You have to find validity to another person's choices and actions…someone may do something quite despicable and yet they're not a despicable person.”
— Adrien Brody [00:02]
Human Flaws
Noted by both Rick and Adrien, all humans are flawed, and part of Brody’s work is accessing and understanding those complexities.

“All humans are flawed.” — Rick Rubin [01:04]
“That's right. That's right.” — Adrien Brody [01:06]

Carrying Characters Home

On taking work home: Brody confesses that while he is himself at the end of the day, the character’s struggles can linger and shape his emotional state.

“Sometimes I need to be immersed in that and lost in that to preserve it and to protect it… for most of my career, I've felt somehow an obligation to carry the suffering beyond. And I think there's a degree of suffering that's necessary for the work, but not beyond and not to…hold on to out of fear that you're not going to honor that suffering in the work. And it's taken a lot of work and…living to know that it's accessible enough. And then you don't have to torture yourself to be tortured in certain moments. And that's a. A huge discovery. It's. It's quite liberating.”
— Adrien Brody [01:18–04:13]

The Joy—And Risk—of Artistic Failure

On roles and challenges:

“I think I can play much more than other people think I can play. I don't know if I would want to play any and every character. But the joy and the purpose of being an actor, frankly, is to be a chameleon and to be malleable and shift into something different... it's so much more interesting to not just repeat and do something that feels like it's not going to inspire you.”
— Adrien Brody [04:18–05:36]

Collaborating with Directors: Unique Approaches

Directors’ varied methods: Brody describes influential directors, contrasting Ken Loach’s withholding of script information to elicit real reactions ([09:10]), with Wes Anderson’s animatics and precise style ([11:45]).
- “Ken Loach wouldn’t give me the end of a scene... so I’d have actual dialogue... but then another actor would be given his dialogue or his notes from... Ken... And he uses this technique primarily because he deals with non actors.”
  — Adrien Brody [09:10]
- “Wes Anderson... will use animatics, which are these moving storyboards, and he will act out the characters at pace, at a style, and with a kind of frenetic energy that he is looking for.”
  — Adrien Brody [11:45]
The importance of trust and openness:

“The joy is working with people that you like and trust their interpretation, whether it's different from your own. You say, I can do that. It's not what I was thinking I would do, but I can make that feel truthful...”
— Adrien Brody [12:54]
Notable moment revealing Brody and Rubin’s mutual respect:

“When I did get to meet you, you were very generous of spirit... and just those things don't go unnoticed, especially with the world being as it is and how precarious it all is.”
— Adrien Brody to Rick Rubin [05:43–07:45]

The Rhythm of Takes and the Magic of the Unexpected

The “one for luck” take:

“I learned one from Peter Jackson where we'd shoot it and then he'd get it and he'd be satisfied... and he'd go, let's do one for luck. And I will always ask for one for luck. ...Sometimes something magic can happen.”
— Adrien Brody [13:34–14:21]
On varying performances:

“In general, how different would you say your performance would be from take to take?”
— Rick Rubin [14:25]
“Oh, vastly, vastly. ...They're just going to be different choices. And at some point, one feels really right. And you hope the director selects those and the editor selects those in the cut.”
— Adrien Brody [14:32]

The Tools of an Actor: Words, Improv, Physicality, and Costume

The feeling over dialogue:

“The feeling and the connection is first. Sometimes not having to say words is freeing. And if the words are really beautiful, sometimes they will spur more emotion and feeling. That's where dialect work is so important.”
— Adrien Brody [16:56]
On ad-libbing:

“If a director's open to me improvising, I'm often ad libbing... it brings textures and feelings and I like them as bridges, I like them as intros and filling the space sometimes. And I like what it does to my fellow actor because then they're not waiting for something very specific...”
— Adrien Brody [17:53]
Theater’s immersiveness: Brody reflects on returning to the stage, the pressure of live performance, unpredictability, and communion with the audience.

“It's pretty intense, pretty immersive and a lot of pressure... some nights there. It was quite wonderful that you really had this communion with them... and that fuels you. And then some nights people are, who are in the light ...are less accessible to you... But I always found the nights that I connected... such a rewarding thing that I go home with that and they go home with that and, and theater is very interesting because it's, you gotta leave it all on there and then it's gone.”
— Adrien Brody [20:34–22:46]
On physical transformation and costume:

“I had to depict a man who experienced starvation. And so I went down to £129. I was hardly even drinking water. ...And then when I did Predators... I got jacked for that. ...I put on 20 something pounds of muscle. It was serious. I was the best shape of my life.”
— Adrien Brody [86:19–88:46]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On learning craft from a young age:

“My mother had an assignment to photograph the American Academy of Dramatic Arts when I was 11 or something. And she had the intuition to know that I was already an actor... I was different as a kid. I was much more outgoing. I was fearless and curious and extremely imaginative.”
— Adrien Brody [56:40]
On being shaped by New York:

“The sea of humanity in New York that I was in the midst of gave me every character and interesting expression and interaction and from every socioeconomic background and you name it, New York is just so full of life and uniqueness.”
— Adrien Brody [48:53]
On graffiti and street art culture:

“A lot of my art today is deeply inspired by graffiti, and I have my graffiti culture all woven throughout it. And, you know, taking the trains to school, I observed the interesting qualities of people, and I read the walls. ...That's all part of growing up in a city.”
— Adrien Brody [80:55]
On transformation through art:

“Would you say that the characters you've played have changed you in any way?”
— Rick Rubin [74:21]
“Definitely. Have lived many lives, I've died many times. I've had to put myself in other people's shoes a lot... all of those stories and experiences that you share and receive are shaping you each thing you encounter. And so I always joke, it beats working for a living.”
— Adrien Brody [74:26–76:13]
On magic as entry to performance:

“I loved it. And I, I always look back at it as something that was my gateway drug into acting.”
— Adrien Brody [65:05]

Timestamps for Major Segments

[00:02] Empathy in acting and non-judgment
[01:18] Does the work follow Adrien home?
[04:18] Limits and opportunities in playing characters
[05:43] Working with directors / Rick and Adrien’s personal connection
[09:10–13:28] Contrasting directorial styles (Ken Loach, Wes Anderson, others)
[14:32] Performance differences from take to take
[16:56] The primacy of feeling in a performance
[17:53] The role of ad-libbing / improvisation
[19:31] Adrien’s theater background and recent experiences
[24:26] Getting involved in "The Brutalist"
[27:57] Collaborations enhancing or diminishing performance
[33:28] Research and dialect work for "The Brutalist"
[36:45] Learning Hungarian dialect; shooting in Hungary
[41:07] Portraying fictional vs. real people (e.g., Pat Riley, Vladislav Spielman)
[43:44] Cinematic awareness versus just ‘acting’
[48:53] Observational skills and mannerisms from life
[55:09] The importance of costumes for character
[56:40–61:03] Early influences; family’s role in Adrien's creative development
[63:37] Magic, acting, and performing as a child
[65:45] Portraying Houdini
[69:09] How well does Adrien know a character before shooting?
[70:51] Film versus script—final interpretation and creative autonomy
[72:30] Painting as creative fulfillment
[78:04] New York childhood and cultural impact
[80:55] Graffiti culture and its influence on art
[82:38] Desire to direct, early directing experiences
[85:49] Dream roles: a deep love story
[86:19] Biggest physical transformations for roles
[88:59] Evolution of Adrien’s approach to acting over time
[90:08] Rhythm, music, and performance (noting influence from Tupac, Mickey Rourke)
[93:42] Bombing with Tupac on set of Bullet

Conclusion & Tone

He closes with:

“Tetragrammatin is a podcast. Tetragrammatin is a website. Tetragrammatin is a whole world of knowledge.”
— Adrien Brody [94:25]

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Summary

Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Acting as Empathy and Understanding

Carrying Characters Home

The Joy—And Risk—of Artistic Failure

Collaborating with Directors: Unique Approaches

The Rhythm of Takes and the Magic of the Unexpected

The Tools of an Actor: Words, Improv, Physicality, and Costume

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps for Major Segments

Conclusion & Tone

Summary

Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Acting as Empathy and Understanding

Carrying Characters Home

The Joy—And Risk—of Artistic Failure

Collaborating with Directors: Unique Approaches

The Rhythm of Takes and the Magic of the Unexpected

The Tools of an Actor: Words, Improv, Physicality, and Costume

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps for Major Segments

Conclusion & Tone