Adrien Brody clinched the Best Actor award at the 30th Critics Choice Awards for his performance in The Brutalist. The historical drama, directed by Brady Corbet, follows Brody’s character, László Tóth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who emigrates to the U.S. after surviving the Holocaust.
An Emotional Acceptance Speech
The 51-year-old actor delivered a heartfelt speech, acknowledging how rare such moments are in an actor’s career.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 12, and I know very clearly that these moments are far and few between in an actor’s life. I do not take this for granted.”
Brody thanked his cast, crew, and studio A24 for their support, as well as his longtime partner, Georgina Chapman, and his parents.
“I want to shout out my crew and amazing cast for all their amazing contributions to this. I couldn’t be here without you, and to my team for supporting me and guiding me and A24 for believing in this movie. And of course, to my beautiful girlfriend Georgina and my parents, thank you. I would not be here without you. God bless everyone, I love you. Thank you.”
Defeating a Competitive Field
Brody triumphed over a strong lineup of nominees:
- Daniel Craig (Queer)
- Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
- Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
- Hugh Grant (Heretic)
- Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
A Strong Oscar Contender
Brody’s Critics Choice victory, along with The Brutalist winning Best Motion Picture Drama at the 2025 Golden Globes, strengthens his Oscar campaign. The film earned nine Critics Choice nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Guy Pearce).
With this win, Brody is now a top contender for his second Academy Award, following his historic Best Actor Oscar win in 2003 for The Pianist.