For Brody, it took a `Village'

After winning a Best Actor Oscar for ``The Pianist,'' Adrien Brody is finally back onscreen in M. Night Shyamalan's ``The Village'' after a two-year absence.

But his role as free-spirited Noah Percy is a far cry from the persecuted musician who made him famous.

Brody had auditioned and lost a role to Joaquin Phoenix in Shyamalan's previous hit ``Signs.'' When the writer-director called him about ``The Village'' right after the Academy Awards, Brody liked the idea that he would be playing a mentally challenged character within an ensemble cast.

``What's interesting is that they've asked me not to discuss too much about my character, period,'' Brody said.

``I don't know where I'm crossing the line, but I did do a tremendous amount of research so that it would be sincere. It was a really great experience, and I wish I could elaborate more on it.''

His leading-man ambitions were revived when, while filming ``The Village'' in Pennsylvania, he was offered ``The Jacket'' opposite red-hot Keira Knightley (``Pirates of the Caribbean''). Now that that film has wrapped, he segues to ``King Kong,'' Peter Jackson's hugely anticipated follow-up to ``The Lord of the Rings,'' with Naomi Watts and Jack Black. But Oscar certainly put Brody in the spotlight. While filming ``The Jacket'' in Scotland, Brody found himself a target of the British tabloids, who claimed the bachelor was showering all sorts of romantic attention on 19-year-old Knightley.

``It's part of the game,'' he said. ``Because people like a story, and they were saying that Keira and I were having candlelit dinners and pasta. I wasn't eating pasta nor have I lit a candle. We did hang out. We watched movies together, but we were also working together and getting to know one another. It's ridiculous! Paparazzi at the window. In the park. Behind a tree with a camera.''

Accepting an Academy Award has meant sacrificing some privacy, he has learned.

``That's part of the equation. It's not something that I would've asked for, but what's my alternative? I wanted to be an actor, I wanted to be a successful actor and I want to be known for my work. And I think that I've achieved that.''