Adrien Brody gave an emotional acceptance speech at the 90th New York Film Critics Circle Awards awards on Wednesday, acknowledging those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires and commending first responders. “I would be remiss to not mention the weight of what’s on all of our minds and in our hearts tonight. It’s been a heavy day for me,” Brody said when accepting the Best Actor award for his role as László Tóth in The Brutalist.
On Tuesday a catastrophic wildfire in the Pacific Palisades broke out, and flames have continued to spread throughout the L.A. area since. According to NBC, as of Saturday afternoon the fires have destroyed over 12,000 structures and killed at least 13 people.
While devastating fires continued to sweep through L.A. amid the NYFCC awards, Brody appeared to get choked up as he tearfully continued. “It’s always hard to accept something like this when there’s so much suffering in the world…my heart goes out to all of the families and the animals and our colleagues,” he said. “Most of the homes on the west side, the beach side of PCH are gone from Palisades on. This is our community.”
Brody went on to thank first responders for their bravery and sacrifices, adding that their meaningful work, “deserves our recognition tonight.”
Brody, who also won the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama film days earlier, wrapped up his speech by saying, “My thoughts are with everyone affected by this horrific event. They’re in my prayers, and I know that we’re all praying for their safety.”
Jim Jarmusch also acknowledged the wildfires (and climate crisis) before presenting Anora director Sean Baker with the award for best screenplay. “I know all of us are worried about our friends in L.A., and I’ll just quickly say one thing: This climate crisis is brought to you by climate deniers and venal corporate greed,” Jarmusch said. “We’re in a period where these clowns are telling us that woke is a negative thing, and I would just like to say it’s time we wake the f*ck up.”
As Baker went on to accept his award, he said, “All of our hearts and prayers should be with those being affected by the L.A. fires.”
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