Halle Berry had her “revenge” on Adrien Brody on tonight’s Oscars red carpet. The Never Let Go star turned the tables on Brody, over two decades after their shocking Oscars moment. In the moment caught by cameras, Berry cut into an interview with Brody, apologized to his partner Georgina Chapman, and gave The Brutalist star an impromptu kiss. “I had to pay him back,” she explained, referencing the infamous kiss that the then-unknown Brody gave to a surprised Berry upon his upset Best Actor win for The Pianist in 2003.
With the win, he became the youngest Best Actor winner in history, a record he still holds. The moment was controversial at the time, but has become more so over time as the MeToo moment shone a spotlight on sexual misconduct. Variety spoke to Berry about the incident after her “revenge,” and she commented on the events of that night:

“That was one hell of a night for him, and for me as well. To be a part of his moment…tonight I had to pay him back. I’ve seen him out at parties, but this is the first time since that night that I’ve seen him on the red carpet somewhere. He’s nominated this year. He deserved that.”

Who Were the Other Winners at the 2003 Oscars?

The 2003 Oscars, which were hosted by Steve Martin, saw Chicago take the top prize, making it the first musical to win Best Picture since 1968’s Oliver!; no musical has won Best Picture since. Catherine Zeta-Jones also took home Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film; the film won six Oscars in total. In addition to Brody’s win for Best Actor, The Pianist also won Best Director for Roman Polanski; Polanski, of course, did not attend the ceremony, as he is still a fugitive from American justice after his guilty plea to statutory rape in 1977. Nicole Kidman took home gold for her transformative performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, and Chris Cooper won Best Supporting Actor for playing orchid thief John Laroche in Adaptation.
Berry is next set to appear in the thriller Crime 101 alongside Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo. Brody, meanwhile, will next be seen alongside Vince Vaughn in the period gangster film The Bookie and the Bruiser, from S. Craig Zahler.
The 97th Oscars are being awarded on March 2, 2025, on ABC. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

The Pianist

Release Date

March 28, 2003

Runtime

150 Minutes

Director

Roman Polanski

Writers

Ronald Harwood, Wladyslaw Szpilman