This episode of Little Gold Men is sponsored by Universal Pictures presenting Wicked.

Wicked is nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Actress Cynthia Arrivo,

Best Supporting Actress Ariana Grande, and Best Picture of the Year.

The American Film Institute calls Wicked a modern classic and says the screen has rarely seen or heard towering performances like

those delivered by Cynthia Arrivo and Ariana Grande. Wicked, now playing in theaters and available

to watch at home.

Hello and welcome to Little Gold Men, Vanity Fair's podcast for film, TV, and awards lovers.

I'm David Canfield.

My guest today is Academy Award winner Adrian Brody, nominated again this year for The Brutalist.

The period film is directed by Brady Corbe and co-written by Corbe and Mona Fastfold.

In it, Brody plays Laslo Toth, a celebrated Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor,

who moved to the United States to build a new life. Upon his arrival, he meets a benefactor

played by Guy Pearce and falls into an intense, ultimately toxic relationship with him.

These are yours. Yes? Yes. All of them?

Yes.

Tell me, why is an accomplished foreign architect shoveling coal here in Philadelphia?

I'm afraid. It is not so simple.

I got the chance to speak with Adrian about his nomination, as well as the creativity that comes

with working on a film, on a very small budget, smaller than you might expect. We also talked about

his speaking Hungarian for the role, and yes, the controversy surrounding the film's use of AI,

and now his life changed after winning his first Oscar at age 29 for the pianist in 2003,

and what life has looked like since. Plus, we do a round of the Proust questionnaire to wrap things up, so let's

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