Adrien Brody won his second Oscar for best actor on Sunday for playing a visionary Hungarian architect in The Brutalist, confirming his place as one of Hollywood’s most admired performers.
Brody earned the award at the 97th Academy Awards for his intense performance as Lázló Tóth, a character who escapes the Holocaust and moves to the United States in search of the American Dream. The movie covers 30 years of Tóth’s life, focusing on his unusual architectural ideas that defied social norms and his ongoing fight to stay true to his artistic vision.
“It looks very glamorous and in certain moments it is,” Brody said during his speech. He became the 11th man to win best actor more than once. Daniel Day-Lewis has won three times, and others like Spencer Tracy, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Cooper, Tom Hanks, Fredric March, Sean Penn, and Anthony Hopkins have each won twice.
“But the one thing that I’ve gained, having the privilege to come back here, is to have some perspective,” he added. “No matter where you are in your career, no matter what you’ve accomplished, it can all go away. And I think what makes this night so special is the awareness of that.”
In his speech, Brody addressed issues of antisemitism and racism.
“I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and othering,” he said. “I pray for a healthier and a happier and a more inclusive world. And I believe if the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked.”
He expressed gratitude to his partner, Georgina Chapman, saying she “reinvigorated my own self worth, but my sense of value and my values.” He also spoke kindly of her two children, who she had with former movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who is now in custody awaiting a new trial for sex crime charges in New York.
Adrien Brody holds the Oscar“I know this has been a roller coaster, but thank you for accepting me into your life,” Brody said. “Popsies coming home a winner.”
Speaking backstage, Brody described his path to the Oscar as a “long and beautiful one.”
“It’s been an artistic path as you try to navigate creative choices,” he said. “There are many variables. There’s an enormous amount of talented individuals all vying for very few great opportunities. I’ve been working very hard for the past 22 years, but nothing quite connected on this level, so I’m conscious of that.”
Brody won over other nominees including Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown, Colman Domingo for Sing Sing, Ralph Fiennes for Conclave, and Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice.
The Brutalist was nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture. It was directed by Brady Corbet and runs three and a half hours. It was filmed using VistaVision. Brody starred alongside Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce.
After winning best actor at the 78th British Academy Film Awards in February, Brody said that The Brutalist has a meaningful message for difficult times.
“It speaks to the need for all of us to share in the responsibility of how we want others to be treated and how we want to be treated by others,” he said. “There’s no place any more for antisemitism. There’s no place for racism.”
Brody had already won best actor at the Academy Awards in 2003 for The Pianist. The 22-year gap between his two wins is the second longest in history. The longest is 29 years, between Silence of the Lambs and The Father for Anthony Hopkins.
Brody is also recognized for his roles in The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Darjeeling Limited, and Midnight in Paris.
His role in The Brutalist strongly resembles what many consider his most important role. In Roman Polanski’s 2002 film The Pianist, Brody also played a Jewish artist struggling to survive during World War II.
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