Adrien Brody has discussed claims that he was banned from Saturday Night Live over 20 years ago after a controversial skit involving a Jamaican accent.
READ MORE: 20 absolutely unmissable films coming out in 2025
In his 2003 appearance, Brody – born in New York City – introduced Sean Paul with an exaggerated Jamaican accent while sporting a dreadlock wig. Paul was born and raised in Kingston, the Caribbean island’s capital.
In the 40-second introduction, Brody went off-piste, diverting from the usual “Ladies and gentlemen, Sean Paul,” to repeat a number of stereotypical Jamaican phrases, a mention of Rastafari, and jokes about Paul’s family all being named various iterations of ‘Sean’.
In the two decades since, Brody – who stars in The Brutalist, out in the UK later this month – hasn’t appeared on SNL again, and it was thought that this moment could have been the reason why. But it turns out that this might not have been the case, with Brody claiming that SNL actually provided him with the costume and watched the dress rehearsal, too.
Adrien Brody in ‘The Brutalist’. CREDIT: Universal Pictures
He described the producers as being ‘agape’ with his wealth of ideas for the show, including the impression, telling Vulture: “I think Lorne [Michaels, SNL creator] wasn’t happy with me embellishing a bit, but they allowed me to,’ he said. ‘I thought that was a safe space to do that, weirdly.”
When asked if he’s now banned, he said he wasn’t to his knowledge, but added a caveat: “I also have never been invited back on so I don’t know what to tell you.”
Footage of the Brody’s skit has been all but removed from public viewing, and is unavailable to watch on any of SNL’s official channels.
On Sunday (January 5), meanwhile, Brody won a Golden Globe for his performance in The Brutalist – he plays László Tóth, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who moves to the US, in the drama.
He became emotional in his acceptance speech, paying tribute to his “beautiful and amazing” girlfriend, and telling her, “I would not be standing here before you if it wasn’t for you.”
He added: “This story is really the character’s journey is very reminiscent of my mother’s and my ancestral journey of fleeing the horrors of war coming to this great country and you know, I owe so much to my mother and my grandparents for their sacrifice.”
The Brutalist, which has been acclaimed by critics, is set to be released in the UK on January 24. It stars the likes of Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn and Raffey Cassidy alongside Brody.
NME’s James Mottram included it in his list of unmissable films coming out in 2025, describing it as “arthouse heaven.”
The post No, Adrien Brody didn’t get banned from ‘SNL’ for his Jamaican impression appeared first on NME.
