Adrien Brody Says Best Part of “The Brutalist” Awards Buzz Is the 'Joy' It's Bringing His Parents (Exclusive)

Adrien Brody's "favorite part" of seeing his latest film receive such high praise is witnessing his parents' response to it all.

On Thursday, Dec. 5, the 51-year-old Oscar winner caught up with PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of The Brutalist, the A24 film in which he plays Hungarian-Jewish architect László Toth, who survives the Holocaust and emigrates to the U.S. to find work.

Brody himself sees the "parallels" between the movie and his own family story — as his mother Sylvia Plachy is a Hungarian-born photographer and artist, who fled Budapest with her parents during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, later immigrating to the U.S.

"I'm very familiar with the immigrant struggles and how the loss and experiences of the past have affected my mother and her work as an artist," Brody says. "I feel there are many parallels related to László that I can relate to personally."

Related: The Brutalist Trailer: Adrien Brody Stars in One of Awards Season's Buzziest Dramas (and It's Over 3.5 Hours Long)

As for the "love and appreciation" he's noticed for The Brutalist so far, Brody says it's left him "in awe and shock."

"I think the favorite part of this is my mother and father. The joy that I'm witnessing in my parents," Brody says. "My mom will say, 'Your dad found another one.' And it'd be a level of not just praise for my work, but a level of respect for the work, my work included. And an understanding and analysis of the work and the film that is quite astute and eloquent and thoughtful without any other references or baggage in the mix."

"To feel that and to read those so consistently where it is purely based on the work at hand and genuinely supportive and happy for me, I feel like the people writing are happy for me, it makes me very grateful," he adds. "Because I don't think I've ever experienced this even through the wonderful reaction and support that I've gained through making The Pianist many, many years ago. It wasn't quite like this."

On Dec. 3, the New York Film Critics' Circle awarded him with the Best Actor prize for his performance in The Brutalist.

Related: Adrien Brody Recalls Being Shocked by Hilarious Question His Girlfriend's Son Asked Him (Exclusive)

Brody previously took home an Oscar for his leading role in 2003's The Pianist. For his latest film, directed by Brady Corbet, he stars alongside a cast consisting of Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach De Bankolé and Alessandro Nivola.

"Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes," an official synopsis for the film reads. "On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost..."

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Premiering at the Venice International Film Festival in September, the film won Corbet Venice's Silver Lion award for best director.

The Brutalist releases in theaters Dec. 20.

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