Houdini's 'much more obsessive than I could ever be, and much more than most people can ever imagine, but it comes from not wanting to fail.' 'You push the envelope of things that intimidate you, and that's why I take a lot of the roles I take, because they're the ones that people tell me, 'Be careful with that one' or 'I don't know if that's the best career decision,'' he says.

His drive 'is something I can relate to,' Brody says. The TV movie is not only his chance to reintroduce himself to a much wider audience, it also has inspired him to take a firmer grip on the reins of his career - starting his own production company, Fable House, earlier this year, which did not produce Houdini, but will develop projects for the actor to direct, produce or star in. Since winning the best-actor Academy Award in 2003 for The Pianist at age 29, Brody has flirted with blockbusters ( King Kong, Predators) and shined in close friend Wes Anderson's movies ( The Darjeeling Limited, The Grand Budapest Hotel), but has flown under the radar in the past few years, appearing in smaller features that haven't gained traction with critics or audiences.īut his career is getting a second wind as he tackles the title role of Houdini, History's two-part miniseries chronicling the life of the legendary escape artist (Sept. Unless, of course, he's escaping one as master illusionist Harry Houdini. NEW YORK - As an actor, Adrien Brody has never allowed himself to be put in a box.

Houdini history channel