Adam Brody has opened up about his career resurgence following the huge success of the Netflix romantic comedy “Nobody Wants This”. Twenty years after his breakout role as Seth Cohen in the teen drama “The O.C.”, Brody has once again become a charming presence in the rom-com genre, starring in the series created by Erin Foster, which tells the story of a rabbi falling for an agnostic woman. With “Nobody Wants This” season 2 set to start filming early this year and Brody and Kristen Bell returning, Brody has even earned a Golden Globe nomination and become one of the year’s most talked-about actors.
In an interview, Brody spoke frankly about the renewed attention he’s been receiving. He expressed his happiness that more people are seeing his work. However, as seen in the following transcribed quote, he also pointed out that he doesn’t feel significantly different as a performer compared to his recent roles. He delved into the often complex world of casting, explaining how it can be challenging for actors to land big parts as executives tend to favor names that are currently in the spotlight:
“It’s pretty great. I mean, I don’t take any offense to it. Put it that way, you know. It’s very nice. It’s very gratifying, and I’m so happy people have found some of my work now. I’m very proud of the stuff I’ve done in the last 20 years, but I sure know the difference between a hit and not and something that’s not a hit, and the palpable difference and essentially the difference between a vast amount of people seeing your work and not. And most of it is the latter. So when something hits, it’s very satisfying, and it feels like, at least for me, who has been doing it a long time, it feels like a result of all the work. It’s related to everything I’ve done in the last 20 years, you know, I didn’t get this job because I wasn’t working for 20 years. And so, yeah, it feels like they’re still related—the work that’s seen, and not because, somebody’s seen it. And, also, you grow, you know, as an actor, you learn.
“It’s also pretty silly in the sense of… it’s such a subjective industry in many ways. It’s such a subjective art, and it’s such a subjective—you know, and then anyone has this—, any filmmaker knows, any filmmaker wants to cast somebody and they can’t. The money says, ’No, it’s got to be X, Y or Z’ and then they go, ‘all right, well, X won’t do it. Y? Figuratively, I’m sick of that person. That’s not a color I want to paint with right now. It’s everywhere. They’re like, ‘ yeah, that’s why you got to use it.’ And it’s a fight. It’s very nice to be on a momentary upswing where perhaps more opportunity comes your way, perhaps doors that were closed open.
“At the same time, it’s also f—king ridiculous. But what are you gonna do? Just meaning that you’re the same actor you were a month ago. Real heads know. I can say that for so many actors, you know, but everyone’s kind of chasing their tail. I think it’s a cliche, “like these executives are just worried about their jobs.” It’s just, it’s the way it all works. Everyone wants the latest thing and, and, yeah, you gotta fight to sort of cast someone original in anything. Anyone has to fight for that. And so, I don’t know. I mean, look, I’ll take it. I’m used to it, the ups and downs, but it’s all I roll my eyes at it as well.”
Brody’s resurgence has been building over the years. His talent has shone through in various supporting or lesser-known roles. He’s managed to steal the show in different projects. For instance, in the 2020 dark crime comedy “The Kid Detective”, he played a depressed and stunted sleuth, delivering a performance quite distinct from his roles as Seth Cohen or in “Nobody Wants This”. Around that time, he also had a memorable turn in the horror movie “Ready or Not”, where he stood out as the one with a bit of heart in a demented family. In the “Shazam!” films, despite having limited screen time, he and young Freddy Freeman actor Jack Dylan Grazer were seen by many critics and fans as the comic book adaptation’s greatest strengths. He also had a role in the FX and Hulu miniseries “Fleishman Is in Trouble”, playing another character named Seth, though in a secondary position compared to Jesse Eisenberg and Claire Danes.
Adam Brody’s resurgence is a combination of the right role and the right circumstances. Bell and Brody have worked together twice before, but “Nobody Wants This” is their most high-profile collaboration, partly due to Netflix’s global reach. Moreover, Brody finally has the leading man role that many envisioned for him after “The O.C.” ended in 2007. Since then, he’s been part of crime dramas like “StartUp” and the twisted dramedy “Billy & Billie”. His latest role in “Nobody Wants This” taps into his ability to play with simplicity and understated affability, appealing to audiences and finally putting him front and center in a story.
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