The Brutalist: Who is László Tóth, the character that earned Adrien Brody his second Oscar?

Oscars 2025 was a special one for Adrien Brody. After his Pianist win, he just bagged his second golden statue for his performance in The Brutalist.

History based movies must be lucky for him as both the movies he won the Oscars for are based on a war affected world. Adrien Brody won this year's Academy Award for Best Actor for his role of László Tóth in The Brutalist.

László Tóth is a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who is trying to start over in post-war America. He has big dreams and even bigger challenges. Yet he’s determined to leave his mark on the architectural world. But of course, life doesn’t make it easy.

Here's all you need to know about Adrien Brody's László Tóth inThe Brutalist that bagged him his second Oscar.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Brutalist. It also reflects the author's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.

The Brutalist: An artistic marvel

The Brutalist is about László Tóth, who struggles to make his way through a world that doesn’t welcome outsiders. Or maybe even if it does, there is no fair treatment. He faces prejudice and financial difficulties. Personal demons only add to all of that. But it's his love for architecture that keeps him going.

The Brutalist looks into Tóth’s journey. It's a visually stunning and deeply emotional experience. Director Brady Corbet makes sure it's an experience rather than just a story. You wouldn't be able to tell where history ends and art begins, and vice versa. The film shows the tension between creativity and survival in a world that values profit over passion.

The slow but stark shots, dark moody visuals, and muted colors mirror Tóth’s emotional journey. Every frame feels like a painting. Themes of ambition, identity, and resilience run throughout the film. It is more than just a historical drama. It's about what it means to create something meaningful in a world that doesn’t always appreciate visionaries.

The Brutalist: Adrien Brody's László Tóth

Needless to say, Adrien Brody's portrayal of Tóth is one that is going to stay with you long after you've watched the film. The way he captures pain, passion, and perseverance all at once is a visual treat. It definitely reminds us of his performance in The Pianist.

Brody's Tóth is the embodiment of the immigrant experience, beginning from finding a place to stay to working in a coal mine to make ends meet. He is someone who is full of hope but also pain. He has the drive to build something lasting. Though the drive is sometimes too strong even for him.

Tóth survives the horrors of war and makes his way to America. There, his cousin welcomes him but only to kick him out after a deal goes south. The deal is struck with the son of a wealthy industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Sr., played by Guy Pearce.

His children plan to surprise him with a newly remodeled library. But when he returns home and sees Tóth working in his house with his cousin, he is furious. For his mother, the sight of a Black man working in their house is simply unacceptable.

The failure of the deal with Harrison Lee Van Sr.'s son shows how unstable opportunities are for an immigrant. So success is dictated by privilege rather than talent in such a world.

The irony of Tóth working on a library, which is a space of knowledge and progress, only to be rejected due to racial bias, underscores the film’s commentary on exclusion and oppression. His dream of building something meaningful clashes with society's refusal to accept him.

Harrison Lee Van Sr., unlike the rest, seems to take him under his wing. He appreciates Tóth's talent and initially even seems to have no problem with his race. But in one of the scenes in the second half of the film, when Tóth's wife, Erzsébet, comes to dinner at Harrison Lee Van Sr.'s place along with Tóth, Harrison compliments her command of English and then says:

"Well, perhaps you can help your husband sound less like he shines shoes for a wage."

"How long have you been here now—four, five years? You have no excuse anymore."

Saying this, he tosses a coin to Tóth. This scene in The Brutalist is one of the first hints that Harrison might not be who we thought him to be. In a previous scene, we get a subtle hint during a party at Harrison’s house, where Tóth is invited. There, Harrison is so self-absorbed that he just keeps yapping about himself.

Our doubts are confirmed later in the film when, during their visit to Italy, Harrison takes advantage of a heavily intoxicated Tóth. It's nothing but a brutal control display. This is his way of asserting dominance. This is also the turning point in the film as it reveals Harrison’s true nature. He reduces Tóth to being just a helpless immigrant.

This traumatic event makes Tóth erratic in The Brutalist. He becomes more frustrated and aggresive as he internalizes all that happened to him. He is unable to deal with that trauma. So all of his anger is then directed at those around him.

The Brutalist is about passion, obsession, and frustration. Architecture is his language, his escape, his identity. But the world around him is ruthless.

Adrien Brody brings every bit of that turmoil to life. His performance is deeply human. You feel his hope, his heartbreak, his desperate need to leave a mark on the world.