Oscars 2025 | Adrien Brody wins Best Actor for ‘The Brutalist’; Mikey Madison wins Best Actress for ‘Anora’
The Hindu
Actor Adrien Brody on Monday bagged the Best Actor Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards, for his scintillating turn in the post-war epic, The Brutalist
Actor Adrien Brody on Monday won the Best Actor Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards, for his scintillating turn in the post-war epic, The Brutalist, while actor Mikey Madison bagged the Best Actress award for her performance in Sean Baker’s Anora.
This is Brody’s second Oscar, after winning in the same category in 2003 for Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, another Holocaust drama. Brody competed in the category withRalph Fiennes (Conclave), Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).
“Acting is a fragile profession,” Brody said in his acceptance speech. “It looks very glamorous, and in certain moments it is, but the one thing that I have gained, having the privilege to come back here, is to have some perspective. And… no matter where you are in your career, no matter what you have accomplished, it can all go away. And I think what makes this night most special is the awareness of that and the gratitude I have to still do the work that I love.”
The Brutalist, which is nominated for 10 Oscars including best picture, stars Brody as László Tóth, a Jewish architect rebuilding his life after World War II. Joining Brody is Felicity Jones as Erzsébet, Tóth’s wife, as the couple immigrates to the United States in search of a fresh start. Their journey takes a turn when Tóth encounters a wealthy and mysterious client, played by Guy Pearce, who becomes pivotal to the architect’s career.
Brody won an Academy Award for best actor in 2003 for his role in The Pianist. His gap of 22 years would be the second-longest between best actor wins. It was 29 years between wins for Silence of the Lambs and The Father for Anthony Hopkins.
Madison competed in the category with Demi Moore (The Substance), Karla Sofia Gascon (Emilia Perez), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here).
The actor starred in the titular role in Anora, which followed an Uzbek-American stripper who frequently entertains Russian-speaking clients through her boss’s arrangements. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Vanya, portrayed by Mark Eidelstein, the wealthy young son of a Russian oligarch. Vanya hires Anora to be his girlfriend for a week, but what begins as a transaction soon evolves into genuine affection. Their whirlwind romance leads to an elopement, but their happiness is jeopardized when Vanya’s powerful parents discover their relationship.
