Adam Brody reflected on the grind of his early acting auditions — and the projects he missed out on.
“I really wanted Blue’s Clues early on,” Brody, 45, said during The Hollywood Reporter’s comedy roundtable interview published on Wednesday, June 11. “I tried real hard, yeah. It was like 1999, I auditioned for it, I wanted it, I didn’t get it. But, I would’ve loved it.”
Blue’s Clues aired on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2006, in which Steve Burns played a version of himself and solved clues left by the titular animated dog. After Burns, now 51, left the show in 2002, the mantle was passed to Donovan Patton (Joe) and Josh Dela Cruz (Josh), respectively.
Brody, meanwhile, continued searching for his breakout role.
“[I went out for] all of those early ones. There was a Dawson’s Creek role. I read with Scott Speedman, sweating,” he recalled. “I believe it went to Michael Pitt.”
Brody eventually landed his big break on Fox’s The O.C. as Seth Cohen, leading to a string of various TV and movie roles. Becoming an A-Lister also allowed him to be more judicious about the types of roles he sought.
“I wasn’t, like, wildly precious, but with hindsight, more precious than I needed to be, and I definitely passed on some things that would’ve been fun, even though I know they weren’t that cool,” he said during the THR panel. “I guess I was like, ‘OK, I’m on this teen drama and I know I’m opinionated, but I like my taste. My talent is hit-or-miss, but my taste is pretty good.’”
He added, “I feel like I’d like what I do to really represent that, and I just didn’t find it. Then, as my prospects dimmed and dwindled, I did get a little frustrated. And then finally, and maybe it was because I got married and had a child, maybe it was just ’cause it was time, but I kind of let go of the reins and said, ‘I’ll just go to work and I’ll do the best thing around.’ And ironically, that led to other better things.”
Brody, who shares two children with wife and fellow actor Leighton Meester, now stars as Noah (affectionately dubbed the “hot rabbi”) on Netflix’s Nobody Wants This. His role even earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a Critics’ Choice Award trophy.
“I’ve gotten a lot of interesting stuff. My email is fuller than it was,” Brody joked to THR in December 2024. “If I’m looking to not do something, it’s probably nothing that is too similar to the show. Other than that, the quality of writing is a precious jewel and anything well-written, anyone would be lucky to do it.”
Brody costars in Nobody Wants This, created by Erin Foster, with Kristen Bell, Jackie Tohn, Timothy Simons and Justine Lupe. They are currently filming season 2.
