Adrien Brody was visibly emotional while accepting a best actor award on Wednesday, January 8, as fires continue to decimate Los Angeles.
“It’s been a heavy day for me,” Brody, 51, admitted at the New York City Film Critics Circle Awards in New York City before crying, per People.
The actor regained his composure and said, “It’s hard to accept something like this when there’s so much suffering in the world. And um, you know, my heart goes out to all of the families and the animals and our colleagues.”
Brody was accepting the best actor prize for his role as László Tóth in The Brutalist. However, the tragic events in L.A. were not far from his mind.
“Most of the homes on the west side, the beach side of the [Pacific Coast Highway] are gone,” he said, per Variety. “From the Palisades on, this is our community.”
Brody went on to thank the “bravery” of first responders fighting the fires that broke out across Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 7. By late Wednesday, another fire had broken out in the Hollywood Hills, and over 100,000 people are under evacuation orders, according to the Associated Press.
“I just want to thank and commend the bravery of the first responders, and their sacrifices and their meaningful work that deserves our recognition tonight,” Brody said during his speech Wednesday night.
Stars including Paris Hilton, Mandy Moore and Billy Crystal have lost homes in the fires.
Hilton shared via Instagram Wednesday that she was “heartbroken beyond words” over her losing her home. “Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience,” she wrote. “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where [her son] Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with [daughter] London.”
Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home of over four decades. “Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,”they said in a statement to Us Weekly. “We ache for our friends and neighbors who have also lost their homes and businesses in this tragedy.”
The statement continued, “Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends, we will get through this. We pray for the safety of the firefighters and first responders. The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home.”
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