Adrien Brody Revealed That He Was Asked To Boycott The 2003 Oscars, And He Explained Why He Went Anyway

    "I kind of have to show up."

    If you're an Oscars nerd — or if you just have a really good memory — then you probably remember when Adrien Brody won Best Actor for The Pianist back in 2003.

    Adrien holds his Oscar

    Brody's acceptance speech is one of the most notorious Oscars moments of all time. Upon accepting the award, he kissed presenter Halle Berry in a manner that didn't appear to be consensual.

    Brody kisses Berry onstage

    The actor recently revealed that, if things had gone a little differently, there's a chance he wouldn't have been there to accept the Oscar at all.

    Adrien holds his award up with his hand

    In an interview with the Sunday Times, Brody claims that legendary actor Jack Nicholson invited him and the other Best Actor nominees to his house — and tried to convince them to boycott the ceremony to protest the Iraq War.

    Brody smiles at an event

    Ultimately, Brody decided to attend. “I said, ‘I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going,’” he recalled saying.

    Brody touches his forehead while watching a game

    “I said, ‘I kind of have to show up. My parents are coming. This doesn’t come around too often.'"

    Adrien clasps his hands together at a step-and-repeat

    "'You can sit it out. But I can’t.’”

    Brody holds an award

    Brody did end up mentioning Iraq in some way during his acceptance speech, saying that his involvement in The Pianist "made me very aware of the sadness and the dehumanization of people at the times of war, and the repercussions of war.”

    Brody poses for a picture while wearing a tux

    Read the entire interview here.