Adrien Brody Breaks Records with Lengthy Oscars Acceptance Speech
Adrien Brody made history at the Oscars this past Sunday, setting a new record for the longest acceptance speech ever delivered at the prestigious awards ceremony. After winning the Best Actor award for his role in “The Brutalist,” Brody captivated the audience with a marathon five-minute-and-40-second monologue. This speech surpassed a record that had stood for 80 years, even though the ceremony saw a slight decline in ratings.
The Academy Awards, which were broadcast on ABC and streamed live on Hulu for the first time, drew 18.1 million viewers, down from last year’s 19.5 million. Technical issues during the stream caused some online audiences to miss key moments, marking the end of a three-year ratings rebound.
Despite promising to keep his speech brief, Brody spoke well beyond the usual time limit, even instructing the orchestra to stop playing when they tried to cut him off. “Please, turn the music off. I’ve done this before,” he said, referencing his previous Oscar win for “The Pianist” in 2003. Brody’s speech exceeded the previous record of five minutes and 30 seconds, set by British actress Greer Garson in 1943 when she won for “Mrs. Miniver.” Garson’s lengthy speech led to the Academy introducing stricter time limits and musical cut-offs, which Brody defied on Sunday.
While the Oscars remain the most-watched awards show in the U.S., this year’s ceremony failed to maintain the upward ratings trend from last year. A decade ago, the Oscars regularly drew over 40 million viewers, but numbers have declined, hitting a low of 10.4 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ceremony, which ran for nearly four hours, saw the independent film “Anora” dominate with five Oscars, including Best Picture. Critics had mixed reactions to the event, with Variety praising Conan O’Brien for his hosting debut, calling it “successful in more ways than not.” However, The Hollywood Reporter found the evening “unstable” and “uneven,” while the Los Angeles Times criticized a “pointless” dance tribute to James Bond.
Brody’s acceptance speech reflected the epic nature of “The Brutalist,” a three-and-a-half-hour drama with an intermission. He took the time to thank over a dozen people, including director Brady Corbet, co-stars Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones, and his girlfriend Georgina Chapman.
One of the most memorable moments of the evening came when Brody, on his way to the stage, removed chewing gum from his mouth and tossed it to Chapman, who caught it. “I forgot I was chewing gum… ‘I’ve got to get rid of this somehow!'” he later explained in a post-ceremony interview.
Brody ended his speech on a poignant note, reflecting on the historical themes of “The Brutalist”: “If the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked.”
