Brendan Fraserwas named Best Actor at the 2023Oscars.
The Whalestar, 54, emerged victorious in what was widely considered a close race, beating outAustin Butler(Elvis),Colin Farrell(The Banshees of Inisherin),Paul Mescal(Aftersun) andBill Nighy(Living).
Fraser began his speech with a quip: “So this is what the multiverse looks like.”
Brendan Fraser.Kevin Winter/Getty
Speaking to his fellow nominees, Fraser acknowledged how they “laid [their] whale-sized hearts bare so that we can see into your souls like no one else could do.” He also called it his “honor” to be nominated alongside them. He then gave a special shout-out to one of his costars before continuing on, saying, “Only whales can swim at the depth of the talent ofHong Chau.”
“I started in this business 30 years ago, and things, they didn’t come easily to me, but there was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time, until it stopped. And I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgement. Because it couldn’t be done without my cast,” he said.
“It’s been like I’ve been on a diving expedition to the bottom of the ocean,” he continued, “and the air on the line [has come from] some people in my life like my sonsHolden and Leland and Griffin— I love you Griffey, my manager JoAnne Colonna, [my publicist] Jennifer Plante and my best first mateJeanne [Moore].”
Fraser concluded, “Thank you again, each one and all. I’m so grateful to you. Goodnight.”
Brendan Fraser inThe Whale(2022).A24/YouTube
Fraser’s big night comes after numerous other wins for his role as a 600-lb. man who reconciles himself to the limits of his reclusive life over a period of five days in Aronofsky’s 2022 drama costarring Chau,Sadie SinkandTy Simpkins.
The actor previously nabbed both a win at both theCritics Choice AwardsandSAG Awardsearlier this year, and was also nominated for aGolden GlobeandBAFTA Award. He also also clinched the Spotlight Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards in January.
“I never would have believed I would have been offered the role of my life in this character, Charlie inThe Whale, he’s someone who is on a raft of regrets but he’s in a sea of hope,” the actor said last month in hisSAG Awardsacceptance speech, after recounting that he first received his SAG-AFTRA card in 1991.
“I’ve been at that sea, and I’ve rode that wave lately and it’s been powerful and good and I’ve also had that wave smash me right down to the ocean floor and drag my face along there and wind up on some strange beach in a different world, wondering ‘where am I now?’ " Fraser continued.
“I just want you to know, for real, all the actors out there who have gone through that, who are going through that, I know how you feel,” theMummystar added. “But believe me, if you just stay in there and you put one foot in front of the other, you get to where you need to go. Have courage.”
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
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Awards season came after Fraser — who is having somewhat of a career resurgence withThe Whale, after having been out of the spotlight for years — experienced multiple lengthy standing ovations at various film festivals and screenings in the latter part of 2022.
He added, “That’s gratifying, to say at least, and that kind of opportunity does not come along in this circus show of show business that we all play along with sometimes.”
“But when it does, andit’s material that’s handled with careand the project comports itself in a way that’s interesting and important, I feel very fortunate and lucky to be a part of it,” said Fraser.
RELATED VIDEO: Brendan Fraser Breaks Down His Performance inThe Whale
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source: people.com
