Adrien Brody ignored the Academy’s 45-second limit and delivered one of the longest speeches in Oscar history after winning Best Actor for his role as a Holocaust survivor in The Brutalist. The star started by saying “I’ll be brief,” then spoke for five minutes and 40 seconds, thanking everyone from his family to his co-stars and reflecting on his “fragile profession.” While some of the shortest speeches in Oscar history have consisted of less than 10 words, Brody went on for a staggering 558 words. The only speech that could possibly have lasted longer is Greer Garson’s 1942 acceptance, rumored to have stretched up to seven minutes, though there is limited footage of the speech so its exact length remains uncertain. Producers tried to play Brody off after three and a half minutes, but he refused to budge. “I will wrap up, please turn the music off,” he said. “It’s not my first rodeo.” Twenty-two years ago, Brody became the youngest Best Actor winner for The Pianist. On Sunday, he joined an elite club of just ten actors to have won the category twice—while also denying Timothée Chalamet the chance to take his title as the youngest Best Actor winner.
