Adrien Brody sets an Oscar record with long-ass acceptance speech

Per Vulture, Brody’s speech was five minutes and 40 seconds long, making it the longest acceptance speech in Academy history. The speech dwarfed Greer Garson’s five-minute-and-a-half-long speech she gave for 1942’s Mrs. Miniver. Brody’s speech was approximately five minutes and five seconds longer than typical Oscar speeches, which tend to clock in around 45 seconds. Of course, winning for his performance in the 215-minute Brutalist, it behooved Brody to live up to the film’s standards.

Brody’s speech touched on the thematic connections to his previous win for The Pianist (“I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and othering”). He also tossed his partner his gum, gave a shout-out to Harvey Weinstein’s kids, and told the band to stop playing because he’s “done this before.” After stopping the band, he promised to be brief before going on for another two minutes. But what really stretched his speech was his stammering flood of emotion, which prevented him from getting his thoughts together. The speech went so long that Hulu viewers didn’t get to see Best Actress and Best Picture, so it’s understandable that taking two minutes to essentially say “be excellent to each other” irked some people. If we may, Mr. Brody, next time, finish strong and win the audience back with six little words: “San Dimas High School Football rules.”