Youngest ever best actor Oscar winner shares he ‘abandoned loved ones’ in preparation for role

Adrien Brody says mentation for his Oscar-winning relation successful The Pianist successful 2002 caused him to spell truthful heavy into quality helium ended up ‘abandoning his beingness and loved ones.’

The star, 51, won Best Actor successful a Leading Role astatine the 2003 Academy Awards for his relation arsenic Wladyslaw Szpilman successful the searing Holocaust drama. He was 29 years aged erstwhile helium won, making him the youngest idiosyncratic to ever triumph the prestigious award.

The histrion has present received different Oscar information astatine the 2025 Academy Awards for his portion successful The Brutalist.

The milestone led him to bespeak connected however antithetic things are this clip astir arsenic helium navigates awards season, telling The Times successful a caller interrogation that helium gave up a batch for The Pianist.

He told the work helium would ne'er sacrifice truthful overmuch for a movie again, saying: ‘I’m a grown-up. And arsenic a young antheral I did not consciousness that I could faithfully honour each that was connected my shoulders with The Pianist, truthful I dug precise deep. 

‘I abandoned my life, loved ones, home, phone, car successful bid to present truth. But it’s little toxic now. I nary longer deliberation it’s indispensable to torment yourself.’

Brody struggled with his wellness aft filming the movie, and it took him rather a agelong clip to travel to presumption with his abrupt fame.

After winning the Oscar, helium disappeared from the spotlight completely, bewildered by each the praise helium was receiving.

He told The Times that helium isolated himself successful the countryside arsenic he ‘saw however overmuch was coming to maine and felt unnerved.’

The histrion has antecedently opened up astir the near-starvation fare helium went connected earlier filming the 2002 movie successful bid to suffer 30 pounds and bring his value to conscionable 129 pounds.

In a erstwhile interrogation with New York Magazine, Brody revealed helium ‘was hardly drinking h2o by the clip they started filming.’

‘That was a carnal translation that was indispensable for storytelling,’ Brody said of the utmost diet. ‘But past that benignant of opened maine up, spiritually, to a extent of knowing of emptiness and hunger successful a mode that I didn’t know, ever.’

But helium besides revealed helium suffered semipermanent effects from the preparation, saying: ‘I decidedly had an eating upset for astatine slightest a year. And past I was depressed for a year, if not a lifetime. I’m kidding, I’m kidding.’

But the histrion has present proven helium tin bash singular enactment without causing harm to different parts of his life, arsenic helium conscionable won a Golden Globe for his relation in The Brutalist.

The movie received a 13-minute lasting ovation when it was screened astatine the Venice Film Festival.

‘This was an incredibly hard movie to make. I’m precise affectional contiguous due to the fact that I’ve been moving connected it for 7 years and it felt urgent each time of the amended portion of a decade,’ helium said astatine a property league attended by Metro.

The 3 and a fractional hr humanities play from Brady Corbet, spans astir 4 decades, and follows Brody arsenic Jewish designer László Tóth, who immigrates to the US and starts moving for a affluent but hot-headed antheral looking to physique a assemblage centre.

While helium helps László and his woman reunite portion moving connected his imagination brutalist building, determination is simply a fateful incidental which changes the people of their lives.

Adrien dedicated the champion histrion triumph to his family: ‘You know, this communicative is truly the character’s journey, is precise reminiscent of my mother’s and my ancestors’ travel of fleeing warfare and coming to this large country.’ His mum Sylvia Plachy emigrated to the United States successful the ’50s. Along with her parents she fled Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution and moved to New York.

The acceptance code continued: ‘I beryllium truthful overmuch to my parent and my grandparents for their sacrifice, and though I bash not cognize afloat however to explicit each of the challenges that you person faced and experienced, and the galore radical who person struggled immigrating to this country, I anticipation that this enactment stands to assistance you up a spot and to springiness you a voice. I’m truthful grateful. I volition cherish this infinitesimal forever.’

Now, it appears Brody could beryllium connected way to triumph his second Oscar arsenic good arsenic the Golden Globe.

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