Adrien Brody Thanks the 'British Public' as He Wins BAFTA Award forThe Brutalist: 'England Has Felt Like Home'

Mar. 15, 2025

Adrien Brody accepts the Leading Actor Award for ‘The Brutalist’ on stage during the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2025 at The Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 16, 2025 in London.Photo:Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty

Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty

Adrien Brodyis this year’s lead actorBritish Academy Film Awardwinner for his work inThe Brutalist.

At theDavid Tennant-hosted BAFTAs ceremony on Feb. 16, the actor took the Royal Festival Hall stage in London to thank his supporters.

“Where do I begin? I am so grateful, and I want to thank this institution for not only honoring me, but for everyone here tonight who’s done such great work, and everyone who’s been nominated and for acknowledging all of this hard work," said Brody, 51.

“This film is really about this pursuit of leaving something meaningful, and I think that’s something we can all relate to. So I congratulate you all. I share this with my fellow esteemed nominees, Ralph, Coleman, Hugh, Timothée, Sebastian, I admire all your work tremendously,” he added.

Adrien Brody accepts the Leading Actor Award for ‘The Brutalist’ on stage during the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2025 at The Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 16, 2025 in London.Tristan Fewings/BAFTA/Getty

Tristan Fewings/BAFTA/Getty

Brody continued to thank the awarding body and mention his newfound appreciation for the people of Britain. “I want to thank the BAFTA voters. I greatly appreciate this. I also want to thank the British public for embracing me and my creative endeavors,” he said. “I was recently brave enough to step back on the stage here, and lived here for a while in London. This is incredibly meaningful as England has felt quite a bit like home lately.”

Also in the running for the 78th BAFTAs ceremony’s lead actor prize wereTimothée ChalametforA Complete Unknown,Colman DomingoforSing Sing, Ralph Fiennes forConclave,Hugh GrantforHereticandSebastian StanforThe Apprentice.

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in ‘The Brutalist’.Lol Crawley

Lol Crawley

Of those, all but Grant are also nominated in theAcademy Awards’ corresponding category. The Oscars ceremony will be held March 2. At the Feb. 23Screen Actors Guild Awards, Brody, Chalamet, Domingo, Fiennes andDaniel CraigforQueerare in contention.

Brody previously spoke with PEOPLEin an exclusive interviewabout his personal connection to the role, saying, “My mother and my grandparents owned a very similar journey of fleeing war-torn Europe and coming to the U.S. in the ’50s.”

He added, “And the hardships and sacrifice and their own resilience and everything that they endured — in addition to my mother as an artist and her yearnings to leave behind a body of work of some great significance, they’re all things that are very personal to me. So I felt a deep responsibility to convey that authentically.”

Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet in ‘A Complete Unknown’.Searchlight Pictures

Searchlight Pictures

Chalamet has earned three BAFTA nods plus a rising star honor in 2018. The actor had a jam-packed year, leading bothDune: Part TwoandA Complete Unknown. The latter is writer-directorJames Mangold’s biopic aboutBob Dylanin the 1960s, costarring fellow BAFTA honoreesEdward NortonasPete SeegerandMonica BarbaroasJoan Baez.

Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci in ‘Conclave’.Courtesy of Focus Features

Courtesy of Focus Features

Fiennes is no stranger to the British Academy, totaling seven nods stretching back to his only win, in 1994 forSchindler’s List. Adapted from Robert Harris' hit novel, papal dramaConclaveimagines a series of twists in the modern-day Vatican City and costarsStanley Tucci,John Lithgowand Fiennes’ fellow BAFTA and Oscar nomineeIsabella Rossellini.

Colman Domingo in ‘Sing Sing’.A24

A24

Domingo, 55, is on a roll with BAFTA, earning back-to-back nods with last year’sRustinand nowSing Sing. The latter stars the Emmy winner as the formerly incarcerated John “Divine G” Whitfield, dramatizing real-life theater programRehabilitation Through the Arts. The actor-producer’s performance has earned love from theGotham Awards, Golden Globes, Film IndependentSpirit Awardsand more.

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Hugh Grant in ‘Heretic’.A24

Hereticmarks Grant’s fifth BAFTA nod, having last won for his first,Four Weddings and a Funeralin 1995. The A24 Scott Beck and Bryan Woods horror hit is a departure from the actor’s previous awards fare; he stars as a sadistic recluse putting two young missionaries through a test of faith. Grant, 64, also notched recognition at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards this season for his bone-chilling work.

Stan, 42, had not one but two critically acclaimed performances in contention this awards season; forA Different Man, he took home hisfirst Golden Globe, while playing a young Donald Trump inThe Apprenticehas earned him debuts at the BAFTAs, Spirit Awards and Oscars. The Ali Abbasi-directed biopic costarsJeremy Strongas Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn.

Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan in ‘The Apprentice’.Courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment & Rich Spirit

Courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment & Rich Spirit

See PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 77thBritish Academy Film Awards, airing on BBC One in the UK and BritBox in North America.

source: people.com