Adrien Brody Was Made For 'The Brutalist'

Fresh Air

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4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

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Summary

Adrien Brody won a Golden Globe for his role in The Brutalist, as a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who seeks a fresh start in post-WWII America. "I just was in awe when I read the script," he says. Brody spoke with Tonya Mosley about how his family's history helped him with the role, and about his collaboration with Wes Anderson.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025?
0:05.4	We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year.
0:09.9	Listen now to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR.
0:14.3	This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley.
0:17.2	In a stunning new film, my guest, Adrian Brody, plays a Hungarian refugee who escapes post-war Europe and arrives in the U.S. with dreams of rebuilding his life.
0:27.6	The Brutalist is a multi-layered story that runs three hours and 35 minutes long, with a 15-minute intermission.
0:35.6	And for me, the time flew by.
0:37.8	Directed by Brady Corbe.
0:39.9	The film explores the harsh realities of the American dream.
0:43.4	And it's visually stunning, shot on a format known as VistaVision.
0:47.7	It's what Alfred Hitchcock used to film North by Northwest in Vertigo.
0:52.3	Brody portrays a fictional character named Laslo Toth, who
0:55.9	settles in Pennsylvania in 1947, where he meets a wealthy industrialist, played by Guy Pearce,
1:02.9	who recognizes his talent and hires him to create a community center in honor of his mother.
1:08.9	However, the relationship between the two comes at a cost.
1:13.2	The sweeping nature of the brutalist is reminiscent of Brody's work in the pianist, where he
1:18.5	captivated audiences and the Academy in 2002 with his stirring performance as a Jewish pianist from
1:25.2	Warsaw who survived the Holocaust by hiding from the Nazis.
1:30.0	Adrian Brody has been in a slew of films and television shows. His breakout role was in Spike Lee's
1:35.7	1999 film Summer of Sam. In 2002 at 29, he became the youngest person to win an Academy Award for
1:43.8	Best Actor.
1:45.1	He's a regular staple in West Anderson films, having starred in five of them, including
	...

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