Adrien Brody Shuts Down Attempt to Cut Off His Oscars Speech: “Please Turn the Music Off”

As Adrien Brody noted during his best actor acceptance speech, the 2025 Oscars were not his “first rodeo.”

Amid emotional remarks, in which among other things he thanked partner Georgina Chapman, the orchestra began playing wrap-up music, which Brody quickly dismissed.

“I’m wrapping up. Please. Please. I will wrap up. Please turn the music off. I’ve done this before. It’s not my first rodeo. I will be brief,” the now two-time Oscar winner said to laughs.

The win comes two decades after a 29-year-old Brody won for the Holocaust drama The Pianist in 2003, making him the youngest best actor Oscar winner of all time. At that show, he famously kissed presenter Halle Berry, and on this year’s red carpet, Berry kissed him in a throwback to that moment. 

In his acceptance speech, Brody acknowledged that a career has its ebbs and flows.

“One thing that I’ve gained, having the privilege to come back here — is to have some perspective. No matter where you are in your career, no matter what you’ve accomplished, it can all go away. And I think what makes this night most special is the awareness of that,” Brody said. “It is a chance to begin again. And the opportunity to hopefully be fortunate enough that for the next 20 years of my life, I can prove that I am worthy of such meaningful, important and relevant roles.”

Along with thanking Chapman, the fashion designer and ex-wife of disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, Brody thanked her children.

“I share this with my amazing partner Georgia, who has not only reinvigorated my own self-worth, but my sense of value, and my values. And her beautiful children, Dash and India. I know this has been a roller coaster, but thank you for accepting me into your life. Popsy is coming home a winner,” he said.

In his speech, he also noted that like with The Pianist, he was onstage to “represent the lingering traumas and repercussions of war and systematic oppression.”

Per the Guinness World Records, Brody‘s acceptance speech is now the longest in Oscars history.

In filmmaker Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, Brody plays a Hungarian Jewish architect who immigrates to Pennsylvania after surviving World War II. “Brody pours himself into the character with bristling intelligence and internal fire, holding nothing back as he viscerally conveys both exultant highs and gutting sorrows. His exacting accent work alone is a measure of his commitment to the audacious project,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney in his review.

Brody beat out Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice). The 97th Academy Awards were hosted by Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. See the star-studded Oscars red carpet 2025 arrivals and the full winners list here.

March 2, 10:57 p.m. A previous version misstated that Brody was the youngest Oscar winner, rather than being the youngest best actor winner.
March 3, 8:20 a.m. Updated to include Brody’s speech being the longest in Oscars history.