Guy Pearce in the Oscars frame after “The Brutalist” dominates Golden Globes
Jan 08, 2025, updated Jan 08, 2025Australia’s Guy Pearce finds himself in line for his first ever Oscars nomination after epic movie The Brutalist emerged as the standout winner of this week’s Golden Globes.
Australians will wait more than two weeks to see The Brutalist, a post-war drama starring Adrien Brody and Pearce which was catapulted into Academy Awards favouritism after winning three awards from seven nominations.
Among its honours were Golden Globes for best film – drama, best director and best actor for Brody.
Also among the nominees was Pearce as best supporting actor, English actor Felicity Jones for best supporting actress and best screenplay.
An epic drama, The Brutalist spans four decades as it follows the life of Laszlo Toth, a fictional Jewish-Hungarian Holocaust survivor and architect as he emigrates to the United States after WWII.
Toth is depicted by Brody, while Guy Pearce plays a wealthy client and Jones his wife.
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The Brutalist is directed by the US actor-turned-director Brady Corbet, whose previous directorial efforts include The Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux, which, like The Brutalist, were co-written with his wife Mona Fastvold.
Consistently described as audacious, the movie is shot in the 1950’s-era, wide-screen VistaVision format and runs for 215 minutes with an interval.
“I was told that this film was un-distributable,” Corbet said at Monday’s Golden Globes.
“No one was asking for a three-and-half-hour film about a mid-century designer in 70mm. But it works.”
As well as its Golden Globes, The Brutalist won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.
Pearce could finally gain Oscars recognition with his role as Van Buren. Photo: A24
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Pearce Oscar’s talk
While Brody is no stranger to Oscars buzz after winning best actor for 2002’s The Pianist, Pearce finds himself in the Academy Awards frame for the first time.
The prolific actor, who has appeared in numerous critically acclaimed roles since getting his start on Neighbours, plays Pennsylvanian titan of industry Harrison Lee Van Buren in The Brutalist.
Van Buren is the benefactor of Brody’s Toth and the abusive bond between the two forms the backbone of the movie’s plot.
Pearce says he’s flattered to be mooted as a possible Academy Award nominee.
“You know, it’s not a race where the first person who crosses the finish line wins,” he was quoted as saying by The Wrap this week.
“When you combine sporting results with art, it feels confusing. But certainly it’s great to know that the film is connecting with people.”
Pearce said his mother, Anne Cocking, who died last year after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, would have revelled seeing him among this year’s Oscars hopefuls.
“My mum would love all this. There she was, enabling me to go and be in theatre when I was young. And for most of us, we just want to make our parents proud,” he said.
“She might not have liked Van Buren very much, but she would have really liked this film, I’m sure.”
The Brutalist opens in Australian cinemas on January 23.