Ahead of the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, where “The Brutalist” is nominated in seven categories, Joe Alwyn reveals the inspiration for his character in the film.
Alwyn told The Guardian that he looked to President-elect Donald Trump and his children to help shape his role as Harry, the son of a wealthy industrialist played by Guy Pearce. Alwin said: Look who is the new president of America and his family. Too often family businesses are isolated, stunted and hollow. You see that with Trump and his kids: “I can do whatever I want.” A criminal is accused of sexually assaulting them, grabbing them by the pussy and all that. “It is not refundable, unfortunately.”
Director Brady Corbett’s Brutal tells the story of Hungarian immigrant Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody) who immigrates to the United States and, after being discovered by a wealthy agent (Pierce), is commissioned to build an ambitious monument in his home.
After premiering at the Venice Film Festival, The Brutalist has received critical acclaim and is expected to be a major player at the Oscars. But Alwyn admits that when he signed on for the project, he wasn’t sure how much audience appeal it would have.
“To be honest, I thought it might be a really good movie that a lot of people wouldn’t end up seeing… who knows, maybe it would still be? I hope not,” Alwyn said. “But given the things that go against it, given that It defines most of the elements that you’re not supposed to make as a movie these days: the length, the content, all of that — anything above that is a really nice surprise.”