It’s been 16 years since The O.C. premiered, but I can’t help wanting to yell “Cohen!” at Adam Brody across the conference room table as he tries to get rid of a hang-nail on a hot Monday afternoon in early August. With Brody’s signature wit intrinsically linked forever to the sharply sarcastic teen soap character he once played, it’s easy to fall back into that fictional, opulent world. But despite his humor and his memorable, still-beachy curls, which he repeatedly pushes behind his ears, the scruffy guy wearing a navy button-down before me is someone else.
First off, the L.A.-based actor is a dad (insert Daddy joke here) to four-year old daughter Arlo and married to actress Leighton Meester. And since the end of The O.C. in 2007, Brody, now 39, has worked consistently. He starred in a handful of series—Billy & Billie, about two step-siblings who fall in love; the reality dating show parody Burning Love; and an organized crime drama StartUp. He also made the jump to the big screen in the comedy-horror flick Jennifer’s Body, and indie films like Life Partners and The Oranges.
But the actor has perhaps gotten the most attention since his breakout role, after starring—in a role kept extremely under wraps—as Captain Marvel Jr. in this year’s Shazam. “I’ve worked since The O.C., but Shazam is very much the most widely seen thing I’ve done since then and to see so many people go ‘Whoa, Seth Cohen, Adam Brody, where has he been? I miss him,’” says Brody. “The goodwill was there and people seemed to genuinely miss me and miss me as that character, and it made me feel good.”
This month, Brody is continuing his reign on the big screen in Ready Or Not (out tomorrow), a Get Out-like black comedy about a woman named Grace (Samara Weaving) who marries into a family gaming empire and, on the night of her wedding, must fight for her life as her new in-laws hunt to kill her. Brody will take on the role of the miserable alcoholic brother of the groom who is an immoral moral compass of the film. He'll also star as a former boy detective in the aptly titled upcoming Kid Detective, and alongside Carrie Mulligan in the 2020 thriller Promising Young Woman.
Ahead of the release of Ready or Not, GQ caught up with Brody about his latest role, his thoughts on an O.C. reboot, and his career path.
GQ: What drew you to the Ready or Not script?
Adam Brody: I just think it’s clever. First and foremost, I think it’s well-constructed. There’s well-drawn characters, it’s very funny, I love the directors and their previous work. It builds to a very satisfying conclusion which is not often the case try as you might in movies and I just thought set piece after set piece and death after death, it was clever. I did have the question of, “This is so goofy, which I love, will it lose all tension?” I’ve seen it, and I was like, “This is way more intense than I thought it was going to be and consequently probably funnier because of that too,” so I was quite pleased with the finished product.
What’s interesting about Daniel is he’s the moral compass of the family, which is also a very low bar. What attracted you to the role of Daniel in particular?
I like the idea that he’s so miserable and leaning into someone who’s so unhappy and hates their family and hates their wife. I’m not saying anything with that about my own circumstances. [Laughs.] But I mean it’s an interesting thing to lean into [something] I don’t normally play. I will say he’s got some inner conflict which is also fun. There is some complexity there, and I enjoy that about him, but that’s not what drew me to him in the first place.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of Jennifer’s Body—a black comedy horror movie you also starred in. Are you generally drawn to comedy-horror hybrid films?
I’m a fan of any movie [that’s] well-done. There isn’t a genre I don’t like. It’s not that I’m even a comedian or anything, but I do think I’m drawn to comedy—even muscular violent stuff I like. I’m definitely drawn to the comedic side of horror.
At this point in your career, what do you look for in roles?
Six figures. Just kidding. Same thing I look for always: First and foremost [that] the writer-director is the person that is at the helm of the world [they’re creating and] I find their storytelling IQ high. Ideally it’s like every choice in the movie would be interesting to me. I want to be in somebody’s head and imagination who I think is really talented. I mean, that’s a tall-order because who am I? I’m limited, and I think I could be good in certain things, and I definitely have my limitations as an actor. That’s not a demand, that’s a hope.
What are your limitations?
I think I do a lot of things well, and maybe nothing great. [Laughs.] But together, it’s a nice cocktail. In any specific direction I could point to people who are more talented. But as a package, I think I’m versatile. I like to be in an interesting storyteller’s world. Hopefully the role is something that at once I can bring something new to it. I love a challenge, but I also like the idea of knowing I can sink my teeth into something too. I like to stretch, but I don’t need to jump into something so blind every time. I don’t want to repeat myself, but I don’t have to reinvent myself either. I’m not worrying about being typecast. I get bored enough and want to try new things that I don’t worry about accidentally being typecast.
Of course there are other considerations, like where does it shoot, how much does it pay and how much time does it take? I’m a practical man, and I’ve been afforded this great job and I’m so lucky to have it, and having a family has really brought that home even more.
You and your wife [Leighton Meester] have kept your private life fairly private. How have you managed to do that?
She’s more inherently private than I am. I don’t seek publicity but if I’m sitting next to you on the subway, I’ll tell you everything about me. We’re homebodies. We don’t go to a lot of things that perhaps we could, and don’t seek out promotion in that way. I’m not shitting on anyone who monetizes that aspect of their life because I get it. But we’ve found this great balance so far that really works for us. We’re also not very active on social media.
How has being a dad changed your life and career?
It’s the best in every way. I mean this cliché—pride and joy. It’s very apt. She’s the thing I’m most proud of and gives me the most joy. She’s just so dang awesome. It just gives you a new perspective in the best way—something to focus on that’s greater and more important than yourself. Also that’s 100% true and even in another way. She has even become my security blanket for the outside world in terms of “I don’t need your approval I have my daughter, fuck you.”
Earlier this year, you starred in Shazam. What was it like essentially playing what would have been Seth Cohen’s dream role?
It was very fun. I’m mostly just in the action sequences so it’s very piece-meal. It’s definitely a thrill. The suits are so silly in a good way that it’s nice that we’re playing 14-year-olds that can sort of embrace the silliness of it and not be so self-serious about it. Seth Cohen didn’t really enter my mind as I was playing that character, but when I see Jack Grazer—really it’s his role—that character on paper and brought to life by him does remind me of Seth Cohen.
Do you still get referenced as Seth Cohen when you go out? And are you okay with that if that’s the case?
Yeah. I don’t get recognized all the time, but of people that do, [being noticed as Seth is] 80%. And am I okay with it? Yeah, I am. I’ve had my gripes too because I’m about to be 40, it’s a high school show, and it doesn’t really interest me at an adult even though I’m very happy with the legacy and I was happy at the time and I’m proud of the work I did, and I’m proud we got to be a part of pop culture, but it’s not something that interests me in terms of revisiting.
It’s funny, I re-watched The O.C. a few months ago when I had laryngitis and I was like, these seasons are so long.
I know. We did 30 episodes the first season. That’s three seasons of another show. Does it hold up? What’s the deal?
Yes, but I still feel conflicted about the final season.
I haven’t seen it in a long time, but about six or seven years ago we showed somebody a bit of of the pilot and a bit of the last episode of the last season and they are different shows, different planets.
When I spoke to Mischa Barton recently, she said Marissa’s plotline got too crazy and all over the place, and it made sense for her to die.
I disagree. Put her in rehab! That’s what you did with Shannen Doherty on 90210. Do a rehab season for her. Put her somewhere. It’s fine.
Was Seth the original hipster?
I doubt it, but I don’t know. It’s so funny to have even a touch of that moniker because I feel uncool. It’s not that I feel totally uncool, I just don’t feel totally hip either. For me, or him, to be some sort of groundbreaking style icon I just can’t get behind. I don’t even know how to classify a hipster. No, I don’t think Seth Cohen is the original hipster, but he’s the first “teen soap hipster.”
He made me a Death Cab For Cutie fan, if I’m being honest.
Well that was my favorite band at the time. I was coming off of two years of really obsessing over them.
We’re in this world of reboot culture. Gossip Girl is being rebooted. Do you think The O.C. could be rebooted?
I think it could. I don’t know what the new take is. I’m sort of a fan of the reboot culture moment we’re having, I don’t get too put-off by re-doing shows from my youth. I actually like it, and if it doesn’t work—which mostly it doesn’t—then fine, it’s flattering to the original show. If it works, then you get a new addition. It would have my blessing. As for me, no [I wouldn’t be involved], I’m in another stage in my life. And I feel silly saying no because they’re not doing it and I haven't been asked, so who am I to turn down non-existent work? But the truth is, it’s not that I mind talking about it, and I haven’t fought hard to not to talk about it, I don’t care, I’m talking freely about it now, and I enjoy it to a certain degree. But as someone who would also like to be known for my other work, I can’t imagine dipping back into that pool to have another decade of conversation.
When people found out you and Leighton were together. The world was like “Blair Waldorf and Seth Cohen have fallen in love.” Was that bizarre for you?
It’s not bizarre. To be perfectly honest, it was a little embarrassing. I guess love knows no bounds?
How did the fame of The O.C. affect you at the time?
Honestly, I was fairly well-insulated from it. It was pre-social media so I wasn’t interacting with the world at large that way. I even think there was so much less outlets for paparazzi so I think there was less of that. I was dating my co-star for the majority of the show and all of our friends were dating each other, so there was this bubble. I was young, but I was 23. I wasn’t 16 or 17. I was an adult. And also, I had been working for a couple of years. It was the thing that made me famous for sure, but I was coming off of Gilmore Girls and I had done an MTV series, so in my somewhat naivete, I felt like a veteran. I don’t even have too many stories of anything crazy. The people who knew me got a kick out of it, or my hometown. I’ll tell you what, I’m very happy that mostly I’m anonymous. I’m very happy it didn’t happen before then. I got to live a full 20+ years before of anonymity.
Do you still keep in touch with any of the cast?
Not too much. Ben [McKenzie] occasionally. He lives in New York, I don’t [editor’s note: The day after this interview, Brody ran into former co-star and ex-girlfriend Rachel Bilson at JFK Airport in New York City].
Do you think Seth projected a lot of what women were looking for as their ideal boyfriend?
I do. I think he was genuinely thought of as “the nice guy,” the alternative to a very aggressive hypermasculine ideal. I haven’t seen it in a long time, but I wonder, looking back, if I watched it again, would I find him noble or if I would find him really selfish?
Rewatching as an adult, I found him selfish, which then replaced my teen crush. Still, I enjoyed the character. Was Seth very close to your personality at the time?
I think I sort of unconsciously made him a little like me and Josh added on and made him more like me. I don’t think my philosophies and attitudes were the same. I was very into comic books. I still have that DNA in me. I’m not an avid reader of them, but I still love them. But I do wonder if he’s selfish and that leading with your insecurities isn’t enough. I do it, but that doesn’t absolve you of everything. But different era.
Is there anything you would have done differently in your career, looking back?
No, not really, mostly because I’m so happy right now. I have an amazing work-life balance, so, no, I wouldn’t want to jeopardize where I am right now.
For a while, I was perhaps extra precious about what roles I did and that was probably to the detriment of some possibility in my career and not even because, “Oh if I would have done that then it would have led to that, although it would have.” It’s not that I’m such a snob… it was more that my self-conscious nature wouldn’t let me do something that I knew was less than really bright or sharp, or cool. I do know what’s cool. I’m not the hippest guy but I do trust my taste. I think I have better taste than I do talent. I felt that if I do something less than cool the world at large is going to think I’m uncool, and I’m already trying to break out of a teen soap thing, so I’ve gotta keep it straight Robert Pattinson.
In GQ's September cover profile, the acclaimed actor explains his extreme preparedness, love of sneaking around town incognito, and the insane work he put into his Freddie Mercury accent.
It’s light as air, looks great with everything, and only costs $24.
