Adrien BrodyPhoto: Frank Micelotta
At the tender age of 29, Adrien Brody became the youngest Oscar winner in Academy Awards history. He capped his win at the 2003 Oscars by stumbling onto the stage in a fog of victory and giving Halle Berry a big, fat kiss. Brody’s acceptance would live on in montage after montage of the magic and excitement of the Oscars.
But that moment of Oscar glory almost didn’t happen. In a recent interview with The Sunday Times (via Yahoo), Brody revealed that Jack Nicholson, who was nominated for About Schmidt, called his fellow candidates over to his home before the ceremony to plan a protest. Nicholson wanted to boycott the awards show because of the US invasion of Iraq, which began five days before the ceremony. Brody declined to participate.
“I said, ‘I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going,'” Brody told the Sunday Times. “I said, ‘I’ve got to show up somehow. My parents are comming. That doesn’t happen too often. I know you are all winners. You can sit it out. But I can not.'”
Brody, who would win the statue for Roman Polanski’s Holocaust drama The Pianist, made his parents happy that night. And he had stiff competition, including Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs Of New York), Michael Caine (The Quiet American), Nicolas Cage (adaptation) and Nicholson. All of the other nominees, Brody pointed out, had already won. As Brody also pointed out, this would be his only win and his only nomination to date.
None of the nominees protested – although the adamantly stylish academy skipped the fanfare of a red carpet ceremony out of respect for the war. Instead, they all looked delighted at the young actor’s victory.
Brody took the opportunity to speak about Iraq. “I am very sad tonight for accepting an award at such a strange time,” he said in his victory speech. “My experience making this film made me very aware of the sadness and dehumanization of people in times of war and the effects of war.”
“Whoever you believe in, whether it is God or Allah, may he watch over you and let us pray for a peaceful and speedy resolution.”
In 2008, four years after the war began, Nicholson told AARP he was against the war “because it’s pre-emptive and we’ve never done it that way,” which is one reason to be against the war. “You can’t imagine that not every person in these countries sees Americans as invaders and occupiers.”
Of course, one Oscar winner boycotted the event: Hayao Miyazaki, who won for his masterpiece Spirited Away. In 2009, he told the LA Times, “The reason I wasn’t here for the Oscars was because I didn’t want to visit a country that’s bombing Iraq,” he said. “Back then, my producer shut me up and wouldn’t let me say it, but I don’t see him anymore. Incidentally, my producer shared that sentiment.” Cameron Diaz accepted the award on behalf of Miyazaki.