Adrien Brody is willing to work himself to "exhaustion"

Adrien told The Hollywood Reporter: "I am very happy to work myself to exhaustion, and feel that gamut of emotions. That is very fulfilling."

The actor relished the challenge of starring in the Brady Corbet-directed historical drama film.

He shared: "It is a joy to connect to something if it has meaning. The hard thing is doing all of that work and the product not necessarily living up to your expectations of what that meant and could have meant.

"In this case, it's a real triumph because we all poured in so much heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears. Brady made a film that is not only cohesive, but speaks to this whole struggle that we all have as artists to create something of lasting merit and worth, and to leave behind something of value."

Earlier this month, Adrien observed that his success has "never been easy".

The veteran actor believes he's ultimately benefited and learned from a series of setbacks earlier in his career.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Adrien explained: "You do not listen until you fail or until it really hurts.

"For a shift to occur, there has to be enlightenment. Enlightenment comes oftentimes through suffering or hardships. I've had a very blessed life and career, but it's never been easy. The thing to know is there are many chapters."

Adrien won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in 'The Pianist', the 2002 war drama. But the movie star rubbished the suggestion that he was an "overnight success".

He explained: "I'd been acting professionally for 17 years before that [Oscar]. To a lot of people, I was an overnight success, but I'd been kicking around, paying dues. And it was a remarkable thing, but it was kind of jarring."