Adrien Brody’s performance as a Hungarian architect in “The Brutalist” has won him his first Golden Globe. In the three-and-a-half hour film directed by Brady Corbet, the actor plays László Tóth, a Holocaust survivor trying to rebuild his life in America following the war.
The performance and film are so detailed that some viewers have come away thinking that László is a real historical figure. He is not. Rather, he’s an invention of Corbet and his co-writer and partner, Mona Fastvold, in order to explore the connections between postwar architecture and postwar psychology.
While Brody, who had never won a Golden Globe until now, has been in the awards conversation before, it was more than 20 years ago that he received the best actor Academy Award — for “The Pianist” (2002). In his acceptance speech on Sunday, he said, “There was a time, not too long ago, that I felt that this may never be a moment afforded to me again.”
He also thanked Corbet and the director’s co-writer, Mona Fastvold, and addressed his fellow nominees — Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”), Daniel Craig (“Queer”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) and Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”) — saying, “You reached such heights with your work, and you are such inspirations to me.”
He went on to acknowledge his family, particularly his photographer mother, who he has said fled Hungary during the 1956 revolution:
“The character’s journey is very reminiscent of my mother’s and my ancestors’ journey of fleeing war and coming to this great country. I owe so much to my mother and my grandparents for their sacrifice, and although I do not know fully how to express all of the challenges that you have faced and experienced, and the many people who have struggled immigrating to this country, I hope that this work stands to lift you up a bit and to give you a voice.”
Brody is considered a likely nominee when the Oscar nominations are unveiled on Jan. 17.
