Adrien Brody On His Career Comeback With ‘Brutalist’

“It has been decades,” said Adrien Brody reflecting on his career; from his Oscar win for The Pianist back in 2003 to his first Golden Globe Drama Actor win tonight for The Brutalist.

“I’ve had a long life and career and lot of peaks and lot of valleys, it’s given me perspective, it’s given me great appreciation for this moment because it can go away.”

“I’m very grateful. I’ve had a very blessed career, but it’s still a challenge to find work such as this. You can have a triumph in your life again is healing and rewarding and what it speaks to of my family struggles and the hardships that they faced that have given me firm footing as an American actor.”

Brody, who plays a post WWII Hungarian Jewish refugee architect in U.S., reflected on how personal The Brutalist was personal to him given how his mother and grandparents fled Hungary in 1936. In the movie, Brody’s architect finds lucrative work in being the architect to an acerbic real estate tycoon played by Guy Pearce. The movie surprised at the Golden Globes tonight with wins for Best Feature Drama as well as for Best Director Brady Corbet.

Speaking about being a Jewish actor and connecting with the Antisemitism that his character faces in The Brutalist, Brody said, “Unfortunately, there is a tremendous amount of Antisemitism. It’s something tha this character is fleeing and that persecution, not just for being Jewish, but for his artistic beliefs and his values and to be oppressed and judged and othered. And then come to come with hopes and dreams that is in the past and still face that, for those challenges to still exist; the fact that they do — it’s intimate to me the roles that I’ve played and, makes me feel very grateful to be a part of storytelling that speaks to this and many other issues that the film provides insight into.”