Culture

Can't Wait For Season 2 Of "Nobody Wants This"? 6 Adam Brody Characters To Drool Over In The Meantime

If anyone's having a good year, it's Adam Brody right now.

By Meghan Dillon2 min read
Getty/Gareth Cattermole

Thanks to the global success of Netflix's Nobody Wants This, everyone is talking about Adam Brody. From his classic characters of the 2000s that made us all fall in love with him during our formative teenage years in Gilmore Girls and The O.C. to his masculine and mature role as Rabbi Noah in 2024, Adam Brody has proved that his characters will always have a special place in our hearts.

Sure, some of his characters, like the ones in Jennifer’s Body (sacrificing a teenage girl to Satan to have a successful music career might be the biggest red flag of all time) and Promising Young Women, give us a major ick, but his good characters outnumber the bad ones. If you're eagerly awaiting season 2 of Nobody Wants This (it's gonna be a while) and are already having Adam Brody withdrawals, we've rounded up some of our favorite characters he's played to keep your eyes happy in the meantime.

Dave Rygalski in Gilmore Girls

He’s no Jess Mariano, but Dave Rygalski will forever be one of our favorite Gilmore Girls men. His stint on the show was short-lived (thanks to his role in another iconic 2000s show), but Dave lives on in our hearts. He may have been a bit dorky and awkward, but the fact that he read the entire Bible in one night to prove to Lane’s mom that he was worthy of taking Lane to prom might be one of the most romantic scenes we’ve ever seen in a teen drama. This role proved that Adam Brody was born to play the hot nerd.

Seth Cohen in The O.C.

Easily one of the most iconic teen shows of the 2000s, The O.C. paved the way for reality shows like Laguna Beach and The Real Housewives Of Orange County, and we are forever indebted for it. 

Brody plays the iconic Seth Cohen, who serves as the foil to Ryan Atwood (who we also adore), the academically gifted teen criminal from the wrong side of the tracks who moves in with the Cohen family when his family abandons him. While Ryan helps Seth find the confidence to stand out among his wealthy classmates, Seth doesn’t change who he is at his core. We’re pretty sure he inspired the term “adorkable.” He’s sarcastic, loyal to his friends, innovative (he invented the holiday Chrismakkuh), and his relationship with party girl Summer Roberts is one of the best in teen drama history. He’s proof that you should date a guy who likes Lord of the Rings.

Toby in The Oranges

ATO Pictures/The Oranges/2011
ATO Pictures/The Oranges/2011

This movie was forgettable, but it holds a special place in our hearts because it’s where Brody first met his wife, Leighton Meester (yes, as in Blair Waldorf). Brody plays Toby, who has a giant crush on Meester’s character, Nina. The problem is not only that Nina doesn’t feel the same way about Toby, but that she’s also having an affair with his father, who is still married to his mother. Toby is a hopeless romantic for seeing the good in Nina, but we’re glad this story is fictional – not only is Nina a walking red flag, but we can’t imagine a world where Adam Brody and Leighton Meester don’t end up together.

Tim in Life Partners

Magnolia Pictures/Life Partners/2014
Magnolia Pictures/Life Partners/2014

In his second movie with Meester (Can we just get a rom-com with them as love interests? Asking on behalf of literally every millennial.), Brody’s character, Tim, dates Sasha’s (Leighton Meester) best friend, Paige (Gillian Jacobs). The girls’ lifelong friendship is changed with the addition of a boyfriend, but it’s for the better because Tim is a genuinely good guy who wants Paige and Sasha to stay friends. He goes out of his way to support Sasha, showing he has an interest in the people that Paige cares about. 

Nick Talman in StartUp

Adam Brody as a finance bro? Sign us up!

Crackle/StartUp/2016
Crackle/StartUp/2016

As someone who starts a tech company with money from…shady origins…Nick isn’t the best guy in the world, but he’s also not the worst. He’s loyal to his friends (a huge bonus) and has a conscience (yes, we’re aware that this should be the bare minimum), which basically makes him a saint in this show. Who are we to apply normal moral standards to characters in a show about corruption and greed? 

Freddy in Shazam

In this lighthearted superhero movie, teenage Freddy gets turned into a grown-up superhero. Adam Brody’s character is literally a child in an adult’s body, and he does a great job embracing the character’s youthful energy, making it a hilarious and wholesome watch.