Conan O’Brien held himself back from mocking Adrien Brody’s Oscar speech: ‘Don’t be a d–k’
Conan O’Brien is looking back at this brutally long Oscars speech.
On the upcoming April 20th episode of his “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast, the comic, 61, spoke with Carol Leifer about Adrien Brody winning the Best Actor award for “The Brutalist.”
“How to be funny if you’re going to give a speech, the most important is length,” O’Brien said. “And I can’t tell you how many times I have witnessed someone — they get their laugh, and you’re like, ‘Good good,’ and then they keep on going, and we’re like, ‘No, no.'”
“We’re talking to you, Adrien Brody,” Leifer, 68, quipped, which garnered a fit of laughter from O’Brien.
“Just witnessed that when I was backstage at the Oscars. I so wanted to — but I thought, ‘It’s late in the day, don’t be a d–k,'” the Academy Awards host elaborated. “I so wanted to go out there and say, ‘You thought ‘The Brutalist’ was long!'”
O’Brien added, “It was such a softball hanging there and I thought, ‘Ehh.'”
Leifer inquired about just how close the late-night host was to interjecting with that joke, to which he confessed, “Very close.”
“For a second I almost said that speech needed an intermission,” O’Brien continued. “Then I thought, ‘I’m going to see him in a minute.’ And his payback is coming from the world. People telling him for the rest of his life, ‘Why Why!'”
At the Oscars, Brody beat out Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”), Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”), Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”) and Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”).
“The Brutalist” was a three-and-a-half-hour movie that followed an architect [Brody] who came to America to rebuild his life, career and marriage after escaping postwar Europe.
And much like the lengthy film, the actor gave a nearly six-minute acceptance speech, which some dubbed the longest winner’s speech in the ceremony’s 96 years.
“Winning an award like this signifies a destination and something my character references in the film. But to me, it also, beyond the pinnacle of a career, it is a chance to begin again and the opportunity to hopefully be fortunate enough so that the next 20 years of my life, I can prove that I am worthy of such meaningful, important and relevant roles,” Brody said in part.
Brody also gave a sweet nod to his “amazing” partner, Georgina Chapman, and her “beautiful” children — whom she had with ex-husband, incarcerated Harvey Weinstein.
“I know it’s been a roller coaster,” he said to the kids. “Thank you for accepting me into your life.”
Brody didn’t leave the stage as the wrap-up music played and instead forged forward in his speech.
“This is not my first rodeo,” he stated.
Along with the Academy Awards, Brody also won big for the historical drama at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Critics Choice Awards.
In his Critics’ speech in February, Brody reflected on his career over the decades.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 12 and I know very clearly that these moments are far and few between in an actor’s life. I do not take this for granted,” the actor shared. “I want to shout out my crew and amazing cast for all their amazing contributions to this, I couldn’t be here without you, and to my team for supporting me and guiding me and A24 for believing in this movie and of course to my beautiful girlfriend, Georgina, and my parents, thank you. I would not be here without you. God bless everyone, I love you. Thank you.”
