Alessandro Nivola: The Brutalist Cast Teases Adrien Brody Over ‘Really Long’ Oscar Speech

The 2025 Oscars were filled with memorable moments, from Conan O’Brien’s able job hosting to Sean Baker’s historic four wins for a single movie, Anora. But the most notable for folks in the heartland might’ve been Adrien Brody’s Best Actor win for The Brutalist. Not so much the fact that Brody won, but rather his reaction to winning. Brody gave a five-minute speech that ranged from the personal to the political. And it was longer than that of any other recipient ever.

It apparently also was a subject of conversation, if apparently mostly in jest, among the people who made The Brutalist as well.

While talking with Den of Geek about his upcoming film Fantasy Life, Alessandro Nivola dropped some information about the group text he shares with Brody and other actors and filmmakers who worked on Brady Corbet’s epic passion project The Brutalist.

“It’s actually just been giving him a hard time about making a really long speech,” Nivola says with a smile, clearly having fun at busting Brody’s chops.

“We text all the time. We have a group text that is mostly stuff that should never be shared with anyone,” Nivola reveals. “It’s the whole cast and we’ve had it sort of since Venice. It’s a tight-knit group. I really have a lot of affection for all of them.”

That affection extends to Brody earning his second career Oscar for the film. “I’m really happy for him,” Nivola enthuses. “I was there at the Oscars, so I was able to say that in person.”

Nivola’s playfulness with Brody is a brighter reflection of their characters’ relationship in The Brutalist. In that A24 release, Nivola pays Attila Miller, cousin to Holocaust survivor László Tóth. Miller left Hungary before World War II and has been able to assimilate into American society, operating a successful furniture store in Philadelphia. When Tóth comes to the U.S., Miller provides a bit of stability for him, at least until the two have a falling out.

The cast’s response to Brody’s speech also puts the moment into context, making it just one of many uncouth moments in Oscars history. There’s Jack Palance’s Best Supporting Actor win for City Slickers in 1991, in which he delivers a litany of mildly inappropriate jokes and then decides to do push-ups to show off his strength. There’s 2013 host Seth McFarlane singing a song about nude scenes in movies with the camera cutting away to uncomfortable shots of the women in question sitting in the audience. There’s Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announcing that La La Land won Best Picture in 2017 when the actual winner was Moonlight.

In light of these oddities, it’s hard to imagine that Brody’s long speech will live long in Oscar viewers’ memories. But it might live forever in the jokes shared on The Brutalist cast text thread.

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