‘He Didn’t Learn His Lines’: More than 20 years ago, Adam Brody nearly missed out on the biggest role of his career in the iconic series.

Super popular character

Before starring as Kristen Bell’s Nobody Wants This, a series about an improbable romantic relationship between an openly agnostic woman and an unconventional rabbi, Adam Brody became a fan of millions of teenage girls in the 2000s thanks to Newport Beach.

Created by Josh Schwartz (Gossip and Chuck) and McGee (Charlie and his Strange Ladies), the series stars Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), a troubled teenager from the slums who lives in a wealthy family living in Newport Beach, the richest county in California. As she tries to find her place in this new environment, she can rely on the support of her new friend, the son of the family, Seth Cohen.

The latter is played by Adam Brody, who becomes a star thanks to this role. For this goofy hero who loves comics and indie rock, Josh Schwartz drew inspiration from his own youth as a Jewish teenager who left the East Coast to study in California. Funny, charming and sarcastic Seth Cohen soon became one of the most popular characters in the series.

Adam Brody’s interpretation contributed to the popularity of the role. As Schwartz explains in the book Welcome to OC: The Oral HistoryThe network was skeptical of the idea of ​​giving so much importance to a nerdy character in a teen series: “He’s managed to turn it into something really unique. I can’t tell you how many people tell us they went to college to find their Seth Cohen. He became an idol in a way that I think surprised us all.”

Destructive listening

However, Adam Brody’s casting was far from obvious. Schwartz recalls: “There’s a time in Los Angeles called ‘pilot season,’ and if you’re a young actor, you’re literally auditioning four times a day for about two months. Adam came in. He didn’t learn his lines, he wasn’t focused, and he was trying to improvise the whole role. But who is this guy?“. The actor’s attitude towards the creator was disrespectful.

But as the auditions went on, candidates came one after the other without doing any tricks. Finally, casting director Patrick Rush decides to call Brody and give him a second chance.

A decision that paid off, as revealed by executive producer Stephanie Savage, who describes the actor’s audition as “magical” : “It all made sense because what I loved about Josh Schwartz’s original pitch for Seth Cohen was that the character didn’t quite fit into the classic evening soap opera paradigm. So it was very exciting, but also very challenging. We had to find the right balance, and Adam really helped us achieve that.”

Adam Brody would play Seth Coen for the four seasons that Newport Beach ran. She will next be seen in Jennifer’s Body, Scream 4, Wedding Nightmare and Shazam!.