Adrien Brody tells festival audience he is Wrecked

Film star agrees that like the character in his new movie, he too is forced to climb out of the dirt

From left, the director of Wrecked, Michael Greenspan, the movie's star, Adrien Brody, and the producer Kyle Mann discuss their new film to a thrilled audience at Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

ABU DHABI // Adrien Brody's fans giggled nervously as they test their cameras and pointed them at the stage where the actor would shortly sit to answer questions.

When he arrived at the Abu Dhabi theatre, even a slight wave from the star prompted applause from the crowd.

His hair slicked back, Brody wore a black leather jacket, black combat boots, black T-shirt and ripped, faded black jeans. He put his sunglasses on the table and took a seat between the producer Kyle Mann, and director Michael Greenspan.

They, along with the screenwriter Christopher Dodd, were in town to promote Wrecked, which had its world premiere at Emirates Palace on Friday night.

The film follows a man who wakes up in a crashed car in a forest, bloody and without any memory of what happened or even who he is. It is an ambitious premise, not least because it requires Brody to carry almost the entire film single-handedly and with barely any dialogue.

For the next hour, Brody took turns to talk about this film, as well as his impressive list of previous performances, including The Darjeeling Limited, The Pianist - for which he became the youngest winner of the leading man Oscar - and, more recently, Predators, which saw him bulk up for his role.

A member of the audience linked his past characters to his present one in Wreckede is a man alone and struggling against the world in a destroyed car (Wrecked), in a destroyed city (The Pianist), and against himself (The Jacket). It is a litany of entrapment.

"This is the story of my life," he said, smiling. "Adrien Brody is wrecked and forced to climb out of the dirt." He paused.

"I don't know why; I guess I embrace these challenges both out of my own curiosity and what they require me to do.

"The process to me as an actor is not pleasurable at all because there is a lot of hardship in the process. ... I do love that but I don't know what that says about me."

Another question came from a group of media students who have travelled from Bahrain to ask his advice on how to make it in the world of cinema.

"I have been considering this a lot lately," he said. "Surround yourself with creative people that inspire you.

"Not necessarily people on a project, obviously they have a different agenda, but the more people around you who think in a creative way, the more you will be able to manifest it."

Another fan was somewhat more effusive.

"What is the best way to approach Adrien Brody?" she asked. A giggle spread across the audience. Mr Brody smiled, and launched into another lengthy answer.