Brody shares the emotional toll of his extreme weight loss on the pianist, revealing lasting effects on his mental health.

Adrien Brody, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor at just 29 for his portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist, has opened up about the lasting psychological effects of the intense weight loss he underwent for the role. In a candid interview with Vulture, Brody revealed that the physical transformation required for the film led him to develop PTSD.

“I definitely had an eating disorder for at least a year,” Brody confessed. “That kind of opened me up, spiritually, to a depth of understanding of emptiness and hunger in a way that I didn’t know, ever. I do [have PTSD], yeah.”

The actor’s drastic weight loss to accurately depict a Holocaust survivor took a significant toll on his health, both physically and mentally. Brody described the experience as a transformative, yet painful process. “I was depressed for a year, if not a lifetime,” he joked, showing some levity about the dark period in his life.

Despite the heavy mental and physical strain, Brody’s performance in The Pianist was lauded, earning him one of Hollywood’s most prestigious awards. However, the psychological effects of the role lingered long after the cameras stopped rolling.

Now, Brody is focusing on his upcoming project, The Brutalist, where he stars alongside Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, and others. Tipped for another Oscar nomination, the film received rave reviews, including a 12-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. In The Brutalist, Brody plays a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who navigates the challenges of post-war America, with a storyline spanning three decades.