The Adrien Brody ultimately took home his second Oscar 22 years after his first win.

Brody broke the record for longest acceptance speech. All-around, Adrien Brody's win for his performance in The Brutalist was a major feat, and it should lead to massive career opportunities for the star despite him never reaching that mark 22 years ago.

Adrien Brody's Career After Winning His First Oscar Didn't Go As Expected

He Did Not Experience A Big Popularity Boost From The Win

While taking home a Best Actor Oscar is one of the biggest indicators that an actor will continue to grow in popularity, this actually is not always the case. In fact, there are several Oscar winners who fell from popularity after their success, and though he has certainly still had a very successful career since his first Oscar win in 2003, Brody has never become the major box office draw that many Oscar winners are.

With such a high caliber of talent, it makes sense that Brody has played complex characters throughout his career, but it is less clear why he never became more popular. Immediately following his Oscar success for The Pianist, Adrien Brody landed roles in promising films like M. Night Shyamalan's The Village and the 2005 remake of King Kong, which remains his highest-grossing film to date at $556.9 million (via The Numbers). Likewise, Brody began collaborating with Wes Anderson several years later, setting him up for further success.

What's more, aside from his Wes Anderson collaborations and the odd successful film like Midnight in Paris, many of Brody's films have received very limited (if any) theatrical release, been box office bombs, or were very poorly received.

All these movies seem like the perfect way for Brody to cement himself as one of the foremost stars in Hollywood, but compared to other 2025 Oscar winners like Zoe Saldaña, Brody does not have the same box office appeal or star power. What's more, aside from his Wes Anderson collaborations and the odd successful film like Midnight in Paris, many of Brody's films have received very limited (if any) theatrical release, been box office bombs, or been very poorly received. As a result, outside his two wins, Brody has not become a regular presence in awards season either.

Adrien Brody's Oscars 2025 Acceptance Speech Even Acknowledged His Unexpected Career

Brody Highlighted The Fragility Of Acting

It is no secret that Hollywood can be tough on actors, and Adrien Brody even acknowledged the unexpected highs and lows of his career in his Oscar acceptance speech. Brody stated, "Acting is a very fragile profession. It looks very glamorous, and at certain moments it is, but...no matter what you've accomplished, it can all go away." The two-time Oscar winner highlighted how difficult it can be to make strides as an actor and how lucky he felt to be in a position to continue his career and still find success.

What's more, Brody seemed to see his 2025 win as a way to look to the future, more so than he had done following his first win. The actor argued that the moment was "a chance to begin again" and continued by sharing that he hoped that for "the next 20 years of my life that I can prove that I am worthy of such meaningful and important and relevant roles." Through this heartfelt moment in his speech, Brody showed that he did not take the win lightly and recognized that it takes a lot of work and some luck to get to that point.

It's Up To Adrien Brody & Hollywood To Ensure His Next 20 Years Are A Lot Better

It's All About Picking The Right Roles

The movie industry has changed a lot in the 22 years since Adrien Brody won his first Oscar and his ability to win again after that period shows his longevity and talent, and if he plays his cards right, his next 20 years could see him become an even bigger star. Many of the roles in smaller productions that Brody has taken in the past have not effectively shown what he can do, so the key here is for him to pick the right roles and for Hollywood to continue making the types of dramatic roles that he excels at available in the first place.

Adrien Brody certainly does not need to a massive franchise to continue being successful, and I would even argue most franchises would likely not fit his acting persona anyway, but choosing the right films to bolster his marketability is crucial. Additionally, it would be great to see him work repeatedly with auteur directors besides Wes Anderson to broaden his scope a little more. Brody has not been in an IP film since 2010's Predators, so it could be time to choose a role that is more recognizable to maintain attention following his impressive 2025 Oscar win.

Source: The Numbers