Adrien Brody, who promised brevity at the Oscars, sets record for longest speech
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Two-time Oscar winner Adrien Brodyclearly had plenty to say at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday. Now, it seems his insistence to deliver a lengthy acceptance speech has paid off.
“The Brutalist” star and lead actor winner now holds the record for the longest acceptance speech in Oscars history. After blowing a kiss to the crowd, Brody spoke for approximately five minutes and 40 seconds by The Times’ count before backing away from the mic. That broke the record previously set by Old Hollywood “Mrs. Miniver” star Greer Garson According to Guinness World Records, Garson celebrated her lead actress win at the 1943 Academy Awards with a 5 1/2-minute speech.
The Times reached out to Guinness on Monday but did not immediately hear back.
Brody, who won his first Oscar in 2003 for “The Pianist,” began his speech Sunday by acknowledging that Oscars producers were “already counting me down.” The playoff music, meant to signal winners to wrap up their spiels, began playing more than halfway into Brody’s speech. He dismissed the score: “I will wrap up. Please turn the music off. I’ve done this before.”
“It’s not my first rodeo,” he said, before adding, “I will be brief. I will not be egregious. I promise.”
Adrien Brody took home the Oscar for his performance in ‘The Brutalist,’ and spoke about how “we must learn from the past” in backstage interviews.
After two more minutes — which he dedicated to thanking his parents and calling for a “healthier and happier and more inclusive world” — Brody conceded. “OK, I’ll get out of here,” he said as the playoff music returned. Backstage, Brody still had more to share.
“I think we all know that it’s an important time to recognize that there’s no place for intolerance,” Brody said in response to a question from The Times. “As I had mentioned in my speech, I’m oddly receiving recognition for representing a time in history that we witnessed unchecked antisemitism and hatred and oppression, and their place in this world, and that we must learn from the past.”
In “The Brutalist,” directed by Brady Corbet, Brody stars as Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor and architect László Tóth, who searches for a new beginning under a wealthy patron (played by Guy Pearce). “The Brutalist” also won Oscars for original score and cinematography.
Even before his speech, Brody turned heads during Sunday’s telecast for seemingly spitting out his gum and chucking it to his partner Georgina Chapman. He addressed the viral moment backstage with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, telling the morning show co-hosts and spouses that he forgot he was chewing gum while making his way to the stage.
“I could’ve [swallowed it], but I didn’t think about that,” he said. “I had to get rid of it somehow.”
Times staff writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this report.
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