Adrien Brody has addressed claims he was banned from Saturday Night Live following an infamous skit.
The actor, who recently won a Golden Globe for his role in The Brutalist, hosted SNL back in May 2003 – and has never appeared on the US sketch show since.
Over the years, it has been claimed that his absence was due to a controversial moment during his episode in which Brody clumsily introduced rapper Sean Paul, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica, by wearing a dreadlock wig and speaking in an exaggerated Jamaican accent despite being from New York.
The actor, whose new film has been hailed as “a masterpiece”, was asked about rumours that he was banned by producers of the show from ever returning, and he suggested to Vulture that this was not the case.
However, he acknowledged that he has never been invited back to host again, so levelled: “So, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Brody explained that all of the producers were “literally agape from me pitching” the idea of introducing Paul in that manner, but acquiesced and supplied him with the wig.
He said that, in the dress rehearsal, producer Lorne Michaels “wasn’t happy with me embellishing a bit”, but said he was ultimately “allowed” to proceed with the introduction, adding: “I thought that was a safe space to do that, weirdly.”
The moment has been essentially struck from the SNL records, and is unavailable to watch on any of the show’s official pages.
Elsewhere during the interview, Brody was asked about another controversial moment from his career – namely when he suddenly kissed Halle Berry when she presented him with the Best Actor Oscar back in 2003 for The Pianist. But the outlet noted that he was “dismayed” by the reference and “declined to say anything about it”.
The actor is in line for an Oscar nomination for his role in The Brutalist, which won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director for Brady Corbet at the Golden Globes on Sunday (5 January).
The film, set over 30 years, explores the life of László Tóth (Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survived the Holocaust and, after emigrating to the US with his wife (Felicity Jones), crosses paths with the mysterious Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who changes the course of his life.
Corbet, whose previous credits includeThe Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux, spent seven years making the 215 minute-long epic, which was shot in 70mm to “reflect the widescreen experiences of its 1950s setting” and comes with a 15-minute intermission. He co-wrote the film with The World to Come director Mona Fastvold.
The film will be released in the UK on 24 January.
