Jack Nicholson wanted to stage a boycott against the 2003 Academy Awards due to the Iraq War, revealed Adrien Brody in a recent interview with the Sunday Times (via Yahoo). The United States’ invasion of Iraq began just days before the 2003 Oscars ceremony. According to Brody, Nicholson invited all of the 2003 best actor nominees over to his house to discuss how they should respond to the war. Nicholson reportedly urged the nominees in the category to boycott the ceremony.
“I said, ‘I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going,’” Brody told the Times. “I said, ‘I kind of have to show up. My parents are coming. This doesn’t come around too often. I know you guys are all winners. You can sit it out. But I can’t.’”
Brody was nominated for his performance in Roman Polanksi’s “The Pianist.” He was the only first-time nominee in the category, which also included nominees Nicholson (“About Schmidt”), Nicolas Cage (“Adaptation”), Daniel Day-Lewis (“Gangs of New York”) and Michael Caine (“The Quiet American”). The men decided not to boycott. Brody ended up winning the Oscar and infamously kissed presenter Halle Berry when he arrived at the podium. The actor addressed the Iraq War in his acceptance speech.
“I’m filled with a lot of sadness tonight because I’m accepting an award at such a strange time,” Brody said in his speech. “My experience of making this film made me very aware of the sadness and the dehumanization of people at the times of war, and the repercussions of war. Whomever you believe in, if it’s God or Allah, may he watch over you, and let us pray for a peaceful and swift resolution.”
Brody told the Times that he “can’t even watch” his Oscar-winning performance as Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman given the subject matter. The actor said, “I can’t. I kind of cry when I talk about it.”
At the Oscars in 2003, Brody’s victory was considered one of the biggest surprises of the night. Most pundits expected Day-Lewis to win given that he collected prizes from the SAG Awards and BAFTAs ahead of the Oscars. Nicholson was also in contention having won the Golden Globe.