What role does Guy Pearce play in The Brutalist? Character arc, explored

The Brutalist has been one of the biggest films of the year, a top contender in all the major award shows—thanks to a stellar cast and masterful storytelling. Although Adrian Brody caught most of the spotlight in the film, Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren, comes a close second, as the elite businessman portrayed as a wealthy moneymonger.

Harrison serves as László Tóth's (played by Brody) client who hires him to work on his Van Buren estate. The film explores their complex relationship with a heavy imbalance of power, as the audience gets to witness Buren's indulgence in exploiting a Tóth's talent, leading to horrific circumstances where the former ends up s*xually assaulting him.

Backed up by his son Harry Lee Van Buren (played by Joe Alwyn), Harrison's character is a stark portrayal of the wealthy industrialists in America after the Holocaust. We see shifts in power dynamics between him and Tóth, a cycle that eventually ends when Erzsébet, Tóth's wife confronts Harrison about his actions, and after that, he vanishes from the film.

Talking about his character, Guy Pearce told Deadline:

"He’s worked hard for his life, but what he’s attained for himself translates into a power, where he feels an ownership of the space that he’s in, of the people around him."

He further added how Harrison's character was built as someone unlikable, but yet attracts empathy from the audience. Pearce said:

"I think [for the film] it was important, as did Brady, to present a character who had a heart, and sensitivity, and had an awareness of artistry. So, our audience is going, “Well, I don’t know what to do with this guy because I’m scared of him. But I do feel sympathy — to a degree.”"

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More details on The Brutalist

Brady Corbet's period drama is one of the most talked-about films of the year, even if it managed to have considerably less financial impact. Bagging 10 Academy Award nominations this year, including Best Picture, Best Director for Brady Corbet, Best Actor for Adrien Brody, and Best Supporting Actress for Felicity Jones, The Brutalist has swept off nominations in all the major shows. Brody remains a powerful nominee for this year's Best Actor award, with many publications predicting a big win for the actor.

At the Golden Globes, the film was nominated for seven awards and took home three big awards for Corbet's direction, Brody's portrayal, and Best Motion Picture - Drama.

Shot in Budapest and Tuscany, The Brutalist boasts a stunning soundtrack by Daniel Blumberg. However, the film has also run into controversy after revealing that artificial intelligence was used to perfect the character's Hungarian accent.

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The Brutalist is currently available to stream on Prime Video.