Baftas 2025: Adrien Brody makes defiant speech in the face of “anti-semitism, racism and petty bigotry”
As Adrien Brody collected his most recent award for ‘Best Actor’, picking up the Bafta for his turn in The Brutalist, the performer noted his “yearning” for such a delicately complex role and made a defiant message in the face of rising racism.
Brody was up against tough competition, including Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown, Ralph Fiennes for Conclave, and Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice. Throughout the awards season, however, Brody has been heavily favoured to win for his demanding and emotionally nuanced role as fictional Hungarian architect László Tóth.
In his acceptance speech, Brody thanked Bafta and his fellow nominees and said, “I want to thank the British public for embracing me and my creative endeavours. England has felt quite a bit like home lately. I want to thank Brady and Mona [Fastvold] for your artistic integrity and perseverance and for taking me along this amazing journey and destination.”
Later in the press conference, Brody went one step further: “It’s taken Brady seven years to make the film. The film is a remarkable artistic achievement. I’m really grateful to Brady and Mona for writing something and a role, in particular, that is so full of complexity and humanity and speaks to a great deal of hardship in this world, both in the past and that has relevance today. It speaks to the yearnings of artistic people to leave behind something that is indelible, and a moment like this is very special because it acknowledges that work and that achievement.”
“The beauty of film is that you can be alone and immerse yourself in the lives of others, and even if they are unfamiliar to you or the circumstances of others, you can gain perspective,” explained Brody. “It’s very important that a film that speaks to tremendous cruelty and despicable behaviour in our past that we see elements of existing today can guide us and remind us of that.”
“It won’t necessarily change those things,” he admitted, “but we all have to recognise that we’re one and that we live in a time that is quite divisive, and it speaks to the need for all of us to share in the responsibility of how we want others to be treated. There’s no place for anti-semitism, for racism and petty bigotry and stereotypical resentments, and if we look at the past and this universal hardship of so many, you gain, hopefully, some perspective, and we’re able to change and improve upon the things that have ailed society over the years.”
The world’s attention now turns towards the Oscars, where Brody is a hot favourite to win ‘Best Actor’.
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