"The real win is doing the work"- When Adrien Brody compared acting to sports
Adrien Brody is once again a darling of the award season with his exceptional role in The Brutalist, which will perhaps be one of the movies present throughout the nomination sheets of all major ceremonies of 2025. The actor first won the Academy Award in 2002 for Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist, also making him the youngest actor to achieve the feat.
Since then, Adrien Brody has practically nailed every role that he touched, more often garnering immense critical acclaim for his performances than not. The actor's views and work ethics play a big part in this.
For instance, in an interview with Jeremy Strong for Interview Magazine in 2022, the actor discussed his craft in comparison to the field of sports and delivered a defining statement about an actor's win being putting in the hard work. He told Jeremy Strong:
"I don’t like to view our work in a competitive way. So much in sports is about winning, and the win, as an actor, is much more elusive. Of course, there’s winning—getting the role is a win. And it’s a competitive field, we know that. But the real win is doing the work."
The actor further dissected the field of acting while talking about it in comparison to sports.
"You have to learn how to be that star player, but share that responsibility with the team"- Adrien Brody on the field of acting
The conversation between Jeremy Strong and Adrien Brody emerged when Strong compared the field of sports to the field of acting, leading Brody to talk about how it was not exactly the case. There were, however, a lot of things in common that professionals in both fields would have to master, like teamwork and being a standout professional in a collaborative field.
Adrien Brody expanded:
"Our work is a collaborative thing, which is like a sport. You have to learn how to be that star player, but share that responsibility with the team. I also relate to the shift that comes in life."
He further elaborated on his efforts to do much more than just acting but the inability to often do so. He added:
"In my aspirations to write and direct, I have so much that I’m yearning to do. But I see it when I’m working, that it’s not my place to impart certain things. So, I get it. I’ve worked consistently, but there has been a good period of time where I was struggling to find work that was as inspiring and meaningful as what I’m finding now. When you reach a certain level of visible success, there’s an expectation from others for you to maintain that."
Perhaps, Adrien Brody is one of the rare artists who have the ability to get truly into their craft, which would also explain his varied points of view about the same.
Recently, the 51-year-old actor earned a Golden Globe for his performance in The Brutalist, and the season of big awards is only starting. The Brutalist is expected to win some big awards in the upcoming award season.
The Brutalist is not yet available for streaming and only a small section of the crowd could see the movie.
