Adrien Brody just won his second Best Actor Oscar for his leading role performance as architect László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor, in the epic period drama The Brutalist.
When Brody received the gold statuette, he refrained from getting affectionate with presenter Cillian Murphy the way he did when he locked lips with presenter Halle Berry 22 years ago, but he still made quite an impression this year after winning.
Brody threw his used chewing gum to his longtime girlfriend, Georgina Chapman, and got up on the Dolby Theater stage in Hollywood and delivered a speech that lasted a Guinness World Record-breaking five minutes and 40 seconds.
His speech was ten seconds longer than the previous record holder, British actor Greer Garson, for the longest Oscars acceptance speech that she delivered in 1943 after winning Best Actress for her role in Mrs. Miniver.
Brody stopped the orchestra's cue to wrap things up and referred to when he was interrupted during his speech winning for The Pianist in 2003, saying:
"Please turn the music off, I've done this before, thank you."
"It’s not my first rodeo, but I will be brief. I will not be egregious, I promise."
He continued to meander with long pauses before finally getting to address the film's topical relevance stemming from the historical persecution of the Jews.
“I’m here once again, to represent the lingering traumas, and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression, and of antisemitism, and racism, and of othering and I believe that I pray for a healthier and 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," said Brody.
You can watch the full speech here.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
Though his hopeful message at the end was commendable, the internet had mixed feelings about the overall speech, with many agreeing he could've been more concise.
"This was one of the most self-aggrandizing yet self-pitying things I’ve ever seen. It was truly horrible to watch in real time," commented a user in the Fauxmoi subReddit.
Another quipped, "Was he trying to make his speech as long as the movie?" referring to The Brualist's three-and-a-half hour running time.
A user in the Oscars subReddit noted:
"I felt overwhelmingly embarrassed for him….and crazy anxious as he kept digging himself deeper. So rude. 'This isn’t my first rodeo?'"
"Seriously that conductor deserves more respect. To treat another performer like that live on stage is so wrong."
One responded, "Yeah, it was one of the worst award speeches I've ever seen. He was essentially stealing time from all the winners after him."
More unimpressed moviegoers shared their thoughts on X (formerly Twitter).
One user even blamed Brody for the Hulu glitch, where its live stream of the event cut off before the announcement of the Best Picture Oscar went to Anora and its leading actor Mikey Madison took home the trophy for Best Actress.
Not everyone was annoyed by the lengthy speech.
Screenrant's Hannah Gearan observed:
"Though he cast a wide net talking about the state of the world, Brody did use a portion of his time to speak about real-world themes relevant to The Brutalist."
"Still, I found his use of time to be fairly arrogant given we had just witnessed the playoff of far more historic wins, including Brazil's first Oscar for I'm Still Here."
Elsewhere in his long-winded speech, Brody referred to acting as a "very fragile profession," a relevant assessment given the passage of over two decades since he won the top prize for The Pianist when he was 29.
While Brody acknowledged that acting "looks very glamorous" at times, he noted:
“The one thing I’ve gained, having the privilege to come back here is to have some perspective and 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 most special is the awareness of that and the gratitude that I have to still to do the work that I love."
When the music cued him a second time to exit the stage, he said, “OK, I’ll get out of here, I love you, I appreciate you all. Let’s fight for what’s right, keep smiling, keep loving one another, let’s rebuild together. Thank you.”
@GregAbbott_TX/X
