Adrien Brody: 'I was robbed 30 times'

Adrien Brody has revealed that he was robbed numerous times while growing up in Queens, New York.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, the actor said that being an actor in a rough neighbourhood was "absurd and pretty far-fetched", and left him vulnerable to bullying and crime.

"I've been robbed by 30 people. I guess everyone in New York has been a victim of armed robbery, at least the old New York," he explained.

"It was over before I knew it. They cut the kid next to me's ear and then they yanked a chain off my neck. It was more entertaining than anything. It's nothing. It's a rite of passage. You get into trouble while you're hanging out, walking on train tracks. I had friends who were graffiti artists; it's all part of growing up in the city."

Brody added that he sought the company of his tougher peers for protection and did what was necessary in order to survive in his environment.

"I wasn't a particularly bad kid, but if you're not physically imposing, you have to know people who are imposing, who watch your back.

"That's part of growing up in a culture where there is some kind of violent presence. You have to be able to defend yourself and exist in that world. I have friends who didn't make it - whether it was from drugs or life being too hard or a combination. That's part of life. I feel lucky."