Adrien Brody is firmly in his villain era. After starring in this year’s Peacock series Poker Face, the Academy Award-winning actor has made his way over to AppleTV+ for Ghosted, the latest feature from director Dexter Fletcher. Starring Ana de Armas and Chris Evans, the film follows Evans’ heartland heartthrob as he is swept up in a global espionage mission with de Armas’ Sadie.
Brody stars as Leveque, an evil billionaire who is out to kill Sadie, who is known in criminal circles as the “Tax Man.” Dressed as a billionaire mastermind should be, Leveque is equipped with eclectic taste and a slew of henchmen he uses to hunt down his targets.
Ahead of Ghosted‘s debut on AppleTV+, Screen Rant sat down with Brody to talk about scratching that blockbuster itch, playing a villain, and reuniting with de Armas after their work together on Blonde.
Adrien Brody on Ghosted
Screen Rant: You took a bit of a break, but you’re everywhere again with shows and movies like Winning Time, Poker Face, and Ghosted. Where does Ghosted fit into this overall plan? Did it scratch the fun blockbuster itch you were looking for?
Adrien Brody: It was a nice gift. I really love Dexter [Fletcher] very much, and I think he’s a really interesting filmmaker, and Chris [Evans] and Anna [de Armas], obviously. It was just exploring something that was liberating in a lot of ways. There were a lot of humorous aspects to the character that Dexter encouraged that we played around with [that] didn’t quite necessarily fit the vision. But the ability to improvise and have fun with people with such great comedic timing like Chris and Ana was a joy. So we had a lot of fun. It’s always fun to play a baddie. It really is.
I was about to say, it feels like you’re in your villain era lately with Poker Face, too.
Adrien Brody: It’s definitely in the repertoire, [but it] is not all I strive to be, believe me. But it is fun.
What do you like about playing a villain that you don’t get out of playing a traditional protagonist?
Adrien Brody: Well, [it’s] very freeing. You’re obviously getting to explore all sorts of dynamics that you wouldn’t. Even in portraying a character whose ethical responsibilities are more aligned with your own and then when you let go you’re free to have humor within. It’s just a different process and there aren’t repercussions for being a horrible character. You go to hell forever if you get away with it on this earth, but you don’t have those concerns. And that is really free[ing] to play. And I always try to find humor, even in the darkness. Especially with a role like this.
You mentioned that improvisation in some moments didn’t make the film. Is there anything that you remember — like a particular moment of improvisation [that didn’t make the movie]?
Adrien Brody: [Laughs] Most of what I did. If you have time to talk to Dexter, he’ll elaborate on it. There’s a lot.
I feel like the villains always get cooler outfits.
Adrien Brody: He was a well-dressed gentleman. They can’t skimp on the billionaire mastermind’s attire. You got to allocate that in the budget for sure.
Did you come up with a backstory for him? Or did you kind of fill in some of the blanks that we didn’t get to see?
Adrien Brody: It’s so funny that you asked that, and I actually wanted to. I can’t put it out to the world, but I do have one. Quite lengthy and quite intriguing. I have an entire I have a very detailed history, including all of the family trials and tribulations and the entire journey for this guy to make him that man. Maybe one day I’ll share, I just don’t know how I can get down to offend someone. I’m probably not going to do it.
Some things are better left to the imagination.
Adrien Brody: It was definitely useful.
I loved to see you reunite with Ana in a vastly different context than what Blonde was — this cerebral, dark head trip. So what was it like to work with her on this project?
Adrien Brody: Just so wonderful, and I’m really happy for her. And it’s very easy. Both Chris and Ana are very easy actors to work with, and very giving and very generous and that’s what it’s about — getting to different journeys. Whether they’re with the same people or not, you’re on a different journey. Every role has a different role and different dynamic. And it’s a nice time for her, so I’m very happy.
She’s basically just become the next great action star. She did Bond, she’s doing the John Wick spinoff. It was cool to see her get to show off even more of that aspect.
Adrien Brody: It’s great. And she ended up a remarkably talented serious actor as well.
That climactic scene [in Ghosted] was pretty wild. And without getting into too many spoilers, I was so curious — was that room actually spinning at any point? What were the mechanics of that?
Adrien Brody: I don’t know if I’m allowed to disclose any of it. But it was a pretty elaborate build-out and quite a huge endeavor for the production team. I mean, it is just very impressive.
How much training and preparation goes into a scene like that? Because you finally get into the action a little bit.
Adrien Brody: I think there were more elaborate fight sequences than I had to really do. There’s a bit, but I’ve done quite a bit of fight work and fight training. All of these aren’t new aspects. So they require some work with the stunt coordinator and the team. But I think Chris and Ana had a much more specifically choreographed moment that took much more training.
That’s what’s great about being the evil billionaire, the henchmen have to do all that.
Adrien Brody: [Laughs] Just hire somebody else to pull the trigger.
This year marks your fifth collaboration with Wes Anderson. I’m so stoked for Asteroid City. What keeps you coming back to him, and what makes Asteroid City special this time around?
Adrien Brody: Wes and I are old friends at this point, which [is] something I cherish. He is such a creative person and has afforded me a lot of comedic work, let alone really interesting work on his films, and it’s really not that much to consider. As you can see, most actors will sign right out.
But he’s such a unique person and spending time with him is quite special. His vision and his adherence to his vision is admirable and extremely artistic and supportive of friends and people who are able to achieve things like that and want to help continue to be a part of that journey.
About Ghosted
Salt-of-the-earth Cole falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie — but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.
Check out our other interview with Ghosted director Dexter Fletcher.
Ghosted is now streaming on AppleTV+.
