Guy Pearce Lovingly Says Adrien Brody Made His ‘The Brutalist’ Performance Look Too Easy: ‘F**k You!’

Adrien Brody may be a victim of Guy Pearce‘s power in “The Brutalist” but, according to the stars of Brady Corbet’s sweeping epic, their off-screen dynamic is also helping fuel the film‘s awards season dominance.

In the film, Brody plays a Jewish Hungarian architect who escapes the Holocaust and attempts to forge a new life in America, which soon involves working for an extremely wealthy industrialist (Pearce) to build a massive community center in the middle of Pennsylvania.

The New York Film Critics Circle awarded the film Best Film, with Brody also winning Best Actor for his work. The film also recently won big at the Golden Globes, with Corbet taking home both Best Director and Best Motion Picture – Drama and Brody winning Best Actor – Drama.

During the 2025 NYFCC ceremony on Wednesday evening in Manhattan, Pearce introduced his co-star and teased him for making his performance look too “simple.”

“Adrien has to be one of the most truthful actors that I’ve ever worked with,” Pearce said. “From my own experience, I can say that he approaches his work with absolute consideration, compassion, and diligence. For Adrien, acting and storytelling is not just an intellectual and emotional pursuit: it’s a responsibility. This, clearly for you, was a very personal story closely associated with your own family’s history, so I think that speaks a lot about your bravery and your ability to even choose to take on this role, let alone what you did with the role.”

Pearce credited Brody’s dedication to his character, adding, “Adrien not only helps us understand who this man is and the experiences that he’s had, but he so deftly allows us to see the world through this man’s eyes, and that is not an easy job to do. People might think it is, but it’s not a simple task. However, Adrien, you make it seem really simple. Fuck you.”

Pearce continued to Brody, “You set the bar intimidatingly really high, so thanks for that for the rest of us, but I have to say, as much of a challenge as it was to meet those demands, it was a real joy for me to spend every day working with you.”

During his acceptance speech, Brody shared that he has “admired [Pearce] for many years” and that Pearce delivers “a complex and nuanced” performance in the film. “I don’t feel that I would be standing here tonight if he didn’t deliver such a magnificent performance and for him to be such a wonderful scene partner for me,” Brody said of Pearce. “I do really mean that.”

Brody concluded that collaborating with director Corbet was a “transformative experience.”

Read Brody’s recent interview with IndieWire’s Anne Thompson here.