Brady Corbet was "concerned" about the reception ‘The Brutalist’ would receive because it is such a "divisive" film.
The 36-year-old filmmaker’s post-World War II drama has attracted rave reviews and a string of nominations at the Oscars, BAFTA Awards and other major ceremonies, but the director admitted he never expected his "very, very radical" film to be so popular.
He candidly told Big Issue magazine: "Frankly, initially I was concerned.
"I thought we’d made something rather divisive. It’s a very, very radical movie."
The film was shot in just 33 days on a limited budget but Brady admitted there were times when he didn’t think it would get made at all.
He said: "It’s been long and arduous. The future of the film was very uncertain as recently as last August – so there’s some degree of whiplash.
"The last six months have been one thing, but the seven years of uncertainty and sleepless nights prior to that, I’m still recovering from!"
While Brady insisted on casting Adrien Brody in the lead role of architect Laszlo Toth was a "no brainer", he was still surprised by the "grace and sensitivity and warmth" that the Oscar-winning star brought to the film.
He said: "Adrien Brody’s story and cultural heritage made him a no-brainer for the role.
"I was just so happy he wanted to do it.
"But he also has this grace and sensitivity and warmth that he imbues the character with, which is something I couldn’t have planned for. It’s just who he is.
"When I’m working with a performer, I try not to get in the way.
"I’m not telling them how to play their instrument. I’m just adjusting the volume."
Brady can identify with the central character’s struggles to stay true to his work when major money is offered his way as he has been in "many situations" that could have benefitted him financially if he had been willing to compromise his projects.
He said: "I have been in so many situations where someone is offering to throw a little money at me – which would solve a lot of my family’s hardships, yet it would be very much at the expense of the film.
"It’s always conditional and it’s very unsettling.
"In the US system, the filmmaker is constantly harassed and it’s not a conducive way to create something when you have something very specific and very tricky you are trying to capture."
