Shazam! Star Adam Brody on the Process of Auditioning for Older Freddy

The final scenes of Shazam! saw the young protagonists transformed into adults with superpowers, resulting in Adam Brody portraying Freddy, played by Jack Dylan Grazer, though the actor admits he had no idea what his role would be when he was auditioning. The conceit of the film is that the young Billy Batson is granted the powers of a wizard, forcing adult actor Zachary Levi to replicate the youthful performance of Asher Angel. The secretive nature of the auditioning process meant that, not only was Brody unaware what role he was auditioning for, but he was given a fictional scene from the project.

"I knew I was auditioning for a superhero version of a kid, but I didn't know which one or who was playing him," Brody revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. "In fact, they made some phony sides that had nothing to do with the movie. I kind of liked the scene I auditioned with; it seemed to be a Cable Guy-esque sort of scene. If I remember correctly, some referee or ball boy gets to join the game and bark orders at all the players. It was very goofy; even goofier than Shazam!. I actually quite enjoyed it, but yeah, I had no idea it was for Freddy."

Brody's scenes provided audiences with some of the film's most crowd-pleasing moments, as it surprised viewers by granting powers to characters in the film we hadn't expected to see turn into superheroes by the film's conclusion. In addition to all of the characters earning super powers, they were also all orphans, having formed a family with one another in a foster home.

Seeing Brody play a superhero-obsessed character felt familiar for audiences, as he played a character with these traits in The OC.

"I instantly noticed it when I read the script," the actor noted of the similarities. "I got the part, and then I read the script. Instantly, I started reading 'he's a comic book aficionado,' and at first, I was like, 'Uh-oh — wait.' But then, I embraced it, and it worked out very well. I think it was a very happy accident. I don't know what [director] David [Sandberg] said, but I imagine he had no idea."

Fans can likely see Brody reprise his role in a Shazam! sequel. Shazam! is currently available on home video.

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