Brendan Fraser, the ’90s heartthrob who made a career comeback with his awards season debut for “The Whale,” wins the Best Actor Oscar.
An emotional Fraser climbed onto the stage and exclaimed, “So this is what the multiverse looks like!”
He then continued with a nautical-themed speech thanking his cast, crew, and family.
“I’m grateful to Darren Aronofsky for giving me a creative lifeline and aboard the good ship ‘The Whale,'” Fraser said. “That was written by Samuel D. Hunter who is our beacon. Gentleman, you opened your whale-sized heart so that we could see into your soul as no one else could. It is an honor for me to be named alongside you in this category. I want to tell you that only whales can swim to the depths of the genius of Hong Chau [named partner].”
“I started in this business 30 years ago, things weren’t easy for me, but there was one feature I didn’t appreciate until it took off. I just want to say thank you for the acknowledgment This couldn’t have been done without my cast. It’s like I’m on a diving expedition and the air on the surface on the line is being watched by some of the people in my life like my sons.
Fraser won an Academy Award for his role as Charlie, a 600-pound English teacher trying to save his relationship with his estranged daughter, played by Sadie Sink.
The 54-year-old actor has maintained a stellar streak throughout awards season, starting with a 14-minute standing ovation during its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Fraser also took home hardware from the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards. Asked what he thought of the Oscars discussion in the Variety TIFF studio, Fraser quoted author Herman Melville, saying: “I don’t know if all that can come, but whatever it is, I’m laughing.” Will go there.
Originally presented as a play in an Off-Broadway production in New York, original scribe Samuel D. Hunter adapted it from stage to screen for A24. Despite the playwright’s pedigree and the fact that previous Oscar nominee Aronofsky was attached to direct, it took 10 years to cast Charlie. “I considered almost anybody on the planet to play this role,” Aronofsky told Variety. “Sam’s [Hunter’s] writing would attract many actors to play the role, so that wasn’t a problem, it was about getting that feeling inside a reason to make the film. Putting Brendan in the film was an important part of making the film.” The reason was
Other nominees in the Best Actor category were Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inishrin”), Paul Meskal (“Aftersun”), and Bill Nighy (“Living”).
Other Oscar nominations for “The Whale” included Best Supporting Actress and Hong Chow for makeup and hairstyling.