Adrien Brody cries accepting best actor award amid California wildfires: 'A heavy day'

NEW YORK ? Oscar hopefuls gathered on the East Coast for another awards season stop on Wednesday, but the tragic events out west weren't out of mind.

Adrien Brody was awarded best actor for "The Brutalist" at the glitzy New York Film Critics Circle Awards gala, his latest honor after he took home a Golden Globe on Sunday.

In his speech, Brody cried while speaking about the deadly wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles, forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate and leaving at least five dead.

"I would be remiss to not mention the weight of what's on all of our minds and in our hearts tonight," the actor said. "It's been a heavy day for me. It's always hard to accept something like this when there's so much suffering in the world. My heart goes out to all the families and the animals and our colleagues."

An emotional Brody continued, "This is our community. I just want to thank and commend the bravery of the first responders, and the sacrifices and their meaningful work that deserves our recognition tonight. My thoughts are with everyone affected by this horrific event."

The events in California were mentioned by several honorees throughout the evening, including "Anora" director Sean Baker, who received the best screenplay award. "All of our hearts and prayers should be with those being affected by the LA fire," he said at the top of his speech.

While introducing Baker, "The Dead Don't Die" director Jim Jarmusch said the crisis is "brought to you by climate deniers," adding that while some are "telling us that 'woke' is a negative thing, I would just like to say it's time we wake" up.

"The Brutalist" was named best movie by New York film critics, another big win for the 3 ?-hour epic that received the best drama film Golden Globe on Sunday.

Adrien Brody is back with 'The Brutalist.' This time, he's left the 'torment' behind.

Robert Pattinson made a surprise appearance to hand the award to director Brady Corbet, whom he worked with on the film "The Childhood of a Leader." In his speech, Corbet recalled how it took him and his wife "years to rebuild" after his house burned down eight years ago.

"My heart is with absolutely everyone in Los Angeles County," he said.

Kieran Culkin gets emotional over Claire Danes' 'incredibly kind' speech about him

Is anyone having a better awards season than Kieran Culkin?

The "Succession" star picked up the best supporting actor award for "A Real Pain" at NYFCC, his third award in four days after winning at the Golden Globes on Sunday and the National Board of Review Awards on Tuesday.

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The honor was presented by Claire Danes, his co-star in the 2002 movie "Igby Goes Down." She described Culkin as "one of the most alive, most dexterous, most kinetic actors in this and every town" and reflected on their long relationship.

"We've been doing this a long time," she said. "When we worked together on 'Igby Goes Down,' we were children. We now have children. So many of them. What is going on?"

The "Homeland" star added that Culkin is a "marvel" and closed, "Congratulations, my friend. You deserve this and so much more."

Upon taking the stage, Culkin appeared thrown off by how emotional he was about Danes' introduction, though he still took the opportunity to get in a sarcastic dig, quipping, "That was incredibly kind. I wish I was listening."

Striking a more serious tone, he said, "God, that was really nice. I don't even know what to do. I'm just going to drink my martini and try to process that. You are a very, very lovely person. I love you a lot."

Sean Baker says his mom 'hates' his movies, told him not to make 'Anora'

Accepting the award for best screenplay for "Anora," Baker told New York film critics that "my mother wouldn't agree with your choice" to give him the award.

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"That's true. I don't think she even made it through 'Red Rocket,'" he said, referring to his 2021 film. "After she saw half of it, she asked me what was next, and I pitched 'Anora' to her over the phone, and she literally said, 'Sean, people don't want to see that!'"

"I love my mom. She's the best and actually, she's why I'm here because she introduced me to cinema. She just hates my movies."

Baker got big laughs after he proceeded to read an excerpt of the "Anora" screenplay ? which was just the phrase "Ani and Ivan have sex" multiple times with new locations swapped in.

"You guys just awarded that best screenplay," he joked. "You can't take this back!"

New York Film Critics Circle full list of winners:

Best film: "The Brutalist"

Best director: RaMell Ross, "Nickel Boys"

Best screenplay: Sean Baker, "Anora"

Best actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, "Hard Truths"

Best actor: Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"

Best supporting actress: Carol Kane, "Between the Temples"

Best supporting actor: Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"

Best foreign language film: "All We Imagine as Light"

Best cinematography: Jomo Fray, "Nickel Boys"

Best nonfiction film: "No Other Land"

Best first film: "Janet Planet"

Best animated film: "Flow"

Contributing: Thao Nguyen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Los Angeles fires: Adrien Brody cries at New York Film Critics Circle