Adrien Brody poses with the Oscar for Best Actor for “The Brutalist” in the Oscars photo room at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Daniel Cole

Jewish actor Adrien Brody has now won two Oscars for best actor, after taking home the honor on Sunday at the 97th Academy Awards for his role as a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor and architect in “The Brutalist.”

Brody, 51, won one of the night’s biggest awards for his portrayal of Lázló Tóth, a fictional character who escaped the Holocaust and then immigrated to the United States in pursuit of the American Dream. The actor, whose parents are both Jewish, beat fellow nominees Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”), and Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”).

Brody previously won an Academy Award for best actor in 2002 for his role in Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist,” in which he played a Polish-Jewish musician who struggles to survive World War II while hiding from the Nazis in Warsaw. His return to the Oscars on Sunday, 22 years later, is the second longest gap between wins for best actor, following a span of 29 years between wins for “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Father” for Anthony Hopkins, according to the Associated Press.

In his acceptance speech on Sunday at the Academy Awards, Brody discussed his return to the Oscars stage for again playing a Holocaust survivor. He also denounced antisemitism and racism.

“I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and othering,” he said in part. “I pray for a healthier and a happier and a more inclusive world. And I believe if the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked. Let’s fight for what’s right. Keep smiling, keep loving one another. Let’s rebuild together.”

Brody also won best actor for his role in “The Brutalist” at the Golden Globes in January. He took home the same honor at the British Academy Film Awards in February, and in his acceptance speech he also spoke about antisemitism. “[‘The Brutalist’] speaks to the need for all of us to share in the responsibility of how we want others to be treated and how we want to be treated by others,” he said. “There’s no place any more for antisemitism. There’s no place for racism.”

“The Brutalist” was nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture and best director. It won three of those awards, including best original score for British-Jewish composer Daniel Blumberg. Brody starred in the film alongside Felicity Jones, who plays Tóth’s wife, and Guy Pearce, who plays a man who sexually assaults the Holocaust survivor. A best supporting actor nominee, Pearce attended the Oscars on Sunday wearing on his tuxedo a pin featuring a white dove that is holding an olive branch and emblazoned with the phrase “Free Palestine.” At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, he wore a Palestinian flag on the lapel of his tuxedo.

Besides Brody, another Jewish actor who won big at the Academy Awards on Sunday is Mikey Madison, who took home the award in the best actress category for her role in “Anora.”