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3. From 'The Pianist' to ' The Brutalist,' Adrien Brody, Master of Immersion

Twenty years after winning his Oscar for The Pianist, Adrien Brody returns with The Brutalist, a role inspired by real-life figures. Through total immersion and physical transformation, he portrays characters shaped by war and resilience. A look back at his career, methods and a nod to the 2025 Oscars.

Adrien Brody possesses the rare gift of completely disappearing into his characters. Since his Oscar triumph in 2003 — becoming the youngest Best Actor winner at 29 — to his resurgence with The Brutalist, he has excelled at portraying men molded by war. His extreme method-acting approach has led him to explore the psychological depths of broken characters, capturing the essence of their fragile humanity.

When Polanski entrusted him with the role of Władysław Szpilman, a Polish Jewish virtuoso who endured the hell of World War II, Brody could not have imagined the level of self-sacrifice his immersion would require. Szpilman, a renowned musician, saw his life upended in 1939 with the Nazi invasion. Trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto, his survival depended on improbable coincidences, the bravery of Polish resistance fighters, and the sympathy of a German officer who loved music. This authentic story presented Brody with an unprecedented challenge: to embody the dignity of a man stripped of everything except his art and his will to survive.

For this role, Brody underwent an exhausting transformation, losing 14 kilos and isolating himself socially to viscerally experience the pianist's loneliness. This spartan discipline, far from being a mere artifice, allowed him to achieve a rare emotional vulnerability on screen. His intense piano training enabled him to perform some of the film's musical sequences himself, including excerpts from Chopin, adding an additional layer of authenticity to his performance. His near-obsessive dedication to the truth of the character is evident in every glance and gesture, shaping a portrayal where the actor vanishes entirely behind the man he embodies. His performance, restrained yet deeply emotional, earned him universal acclaim and the golden statuette that transformed his career. Even Polanski praised this metamorphosis, stating that he had discovered in Brody an exceptional ability to convey silent suffering and inner resilience.

A New Transformation

Two decades later, Brody reappears in a role that, while fictional, draws from real historical trajectories. The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet, depicts László Tóth, a Hungarian Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor trying to rebuild his life in America. Though this character is an original creation, he embodies the tragic fate of many European architects persecuted during the Nazi occupation. The film explores themes of exile, traumatic memory and identity reconstruction through the lens of architecture — an art form that, in Tóth's hands, becomes a tangible act of resilience.

The filmmaker justifies this fictionalized account by noting that no European Jewish architect truly pursued their career in the US after liberation, as most perished in the camps. However, the film draws inspiration from major figures like Marcel Breuer and Louis Kahn, pioneers of Brutalism and post-war modernist architecture. Brady Corbet expressed his fascination with this period when architecture, particularly Brutalism with its raw concrete structures, sought to address collective trauma through an artistic form radically opposed to previous aesthetics—a bold renewal that Brody embodies with poignant conviction.

To portray László Tóth, Brody immersed himself in the principles of Brutalist architecture. He worked with a dialect coach to perfect his Hungarian accent, taking advantage of filming in Budapest to absorb local authenticity. Post-production fine-tuned his pronunciation using artificial intelligence. Without formal academic training, he nevertheless crafted his character down to the smallest physical detail: a slightly hunched posture, piercing melancholic gaze and precise, mathematical gestures reflecting Tóth's past traumas.

As in The Pianist, he brings to life a man shaped by history, seeking to rebuild his identity and leave a lasting mark in a new world. In both roles, art becomes a refuge, a means of transcending hardship and leaving a permanent trace. While Szpilman finds solace in music, Tóth shapes concrete and architectural forms to assert his existence.

The parallels between these two performances are striking. First, the trauma of war: Szpilman survives the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto, while Tóth attempts to rebuild after fleeing devastated Europe. Second, art as a sanctuary: music serves as a refuge for the former, while architecture becomes a rebirth for the latter. Finally, Brody's total commitment, as in both films, he delves into the invisible scars left by war, transcending mere acting to reach an emotional truth rarely seen on screen. This thematic continuity in his work reveals his interest in stories of resilience and his desire to give voice to those whom history has sought to silence.

A Nod to the Oscars

If the 2003 Oscar remains memorable for Brody's performance, it is also remembered for the impulsive kiss he gave Halle Berry — a gesture that sparked mixed reactions. Twenty-two years later, at the 2025 Oscars, Berry orchestrates her revenge with finesse, taking the initiative to kiss Brody on the red carpet before the world's media, calling it a "gifted kiss in return." With elegance, she first apologizes to Georgina Chapman, Brody's partner, who takes the joke in stride. This playful moment transforms a past controversy into a lighthearted anecdote, reflecting Hollywood's evolving perception of public interactions and consent.

Through The Pianist and The Brutalist, Adrien Brody reaffirms his mastery of immersion. His brilliance lies in his ability to disappear behind his characters, reminiscent of the transformations of Daniel Day-Lewis or Robert De Niro. Whether portraying a surviving musician or an architect seeking reconstruction, Brody brings a depth that transcends the screen and lingers long after the credits roll. With performances of heartrending authenticity, he stands as one of the most remarkable actors of his generation, turning every role into a visceral experience, both for himself and for the audience.