The Brutalist — Characters & Cast

To build permanent, uncompromising structures and reunite with his family in America.

Transitions from a shattered, impoverished refugee to an exploited master builder, enduring extreme physical and psychological degradation to leave behind an enduring architectural legacy.

To restore dignity, preserve family truth, and survive postwar bodily decline.

Overcomes debilitating illness to rejoin László in America, serving as his sharpest intellectual ally and fierce conscience who openly confronts Van Buren.

To immortalize his family name through monumental architecture while exerting total dominance over those around him.

Presents himself initially as an enlightened, charismatic benefactor and connoisseur before exposing his megalomania, entitlement, and violent possessiveness.

To earn his father’s approval while protecting the family's social standing.

Shifts from an impulsive young client commissioning a library renovation to an anxious heir struggling under his father's suffocating shadow.

Economic security and social acceptance in Christian-dominated American society.

Maintains complete erasure of his European Jewish roots to pursue commercial success in bourgeois America.