Adrien Brody Defends 5-Minute, 40-Second Oscar Speech

Adrien Brody is still talking about the 5-minute, 40-second Oscar acceptance speech that set a record in early 2025, and he is doing it with a joke of his own. He said he should be allowed “three extra seconds without a paddling” after the speech drew harsh ridicule online.

The Brutalist speech

Brody used the stage to reflect on his career and to touch on racism, systematic oppression and antisemitism while accepting the best actor trophy for The Brutalist. He later called the experience “it’s a very funny thing,” adding, “I’d like to see anyone really have perspective in that moment of their life, because you don’t have any.”

He also said, “It takes me a while – as you can see – to express my thoughts, but I really try to share what I mean to say.” Brody said, “There are a lot of people and a lot of circumstances that got me to that place, miraculously, that I tried to unpack under the pressure of being in front of the world,” and added, “And it took a little longer than I thought.”

Oscar stage and rehearsal

At this year’s Oscar ceremony in March, Brody was on hand to present best actor to Michael B. Jordan for Sinners. During the ceremony he walked out with a stack of papers and pretended to get frazzled by the orchestra’s playoff music, a bit he and his team had pitched to the show’s producers.

He said the rehearsal version went even further. “I was playing around, but they asked me to please stick to the script,” Brody said. “But we presented (the idea).”

Brody’s record and response

The speech mattered because it set the longest Oscar acceptance speech in the almost-100-year history of the Academy Awards, and Brody’s The Brutalist role had already put him in another record book. His performance ran 2 hours and 8 minutes on screen and broke Charlton Heston’s 65-year record for the most screen time of any best actor winner.

Brody did not sound defensive so much as amused. He said, “I witness people blather on about things that … you know, no one’s criticizing as much.” Then he added, “But it’s all good,” and “It’s part of the privilege and the joy of recognition.”

His final line turned the backlash into a punch line: “it was the longest screen time of any actor, too,” he said of The Brutalist. “So I should be allowed three extra seconds without a paddling!”