The epic drama The Brutalist is officially an awards frontrunner — and after winning the Golden Globe for his performance in it this past weekend, it seems like Adrien Brody is a sure bet for his second Best Actor Oscar later this year.
Adrien is, of course, a very accomplished actor. But even accomplished actors don’t always have the best instincts, which is where his 2003 SNL hosting stint comes in.
So, when Adrien hosted the show, dancehall legend Sean Paul was the musical guest. For some reason, Adrien introduced Sean Paul while wearing fake dreads and doing faux Jamaican patois. It’s obviously offensive, and speaking as someone who watched it live back then, it was excruciating to witness — and you can watch it for yourself right here.
Now, if you clicked on that video, you might’ve noticed its title: “Adrien Brody Getting Banned From SNL.” Adrien has indeed not been invited back to host since then — and given the notorious control freak tendencies of SNL creator Lorne Michaels, many have long assumed that his ill-advised improvising got him blacklisted from the show for good.
So what’s the deal? Well, Adrien addressed the subject head-on in a new Vulture interview — and as with many things, it sounds like the truth lands somewhere in the middle.
So, despite longstanding lore, Adrien revealed that he actually pitched the idea to SNL‘s writers leading up to the broadcast — and they even ran through it in dress rehearsal, bad costume and all. When it came to showtime, though, it sounds like he went further with it than anyone expected.
“I think Lorne wasn’t happy with me embellishing a bit, but they allowed me to,” he says. “I thought that was a safe space to do that, weirdly.”
The profile notes that Adrien was never officially informed of an SNL ban — but, as he says himself, “I also have never been invited back on. So I don’t know what to tell you.”
Will he return this year ahead of the Oscars? Who knows! It does seem possible. It’s also worth noting that, in the space since 2002’s The Pianist (which won him his first Oscar) and now, he’s worked steadily — especially as part of Wes Anderson’s films — but rarely has achieved the level of critical success that he’s experiencing again with The Brutalist. There hasn’t been a very good reason to have him on SNL again until now, and that’s just the truth.
If he does get invited back, let’s just hope he leaves the wig — and the accent — at home this time.
