It’s official: Brendan Fraser is back! The fan favourite won the coveted Best Actor award at the 2023 Oscars for his role in The Whale.
He beat out Austin Butler Elvis), Bill Nighy (Living), Paul Mescal (Aftersun), and Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) to take home the statue.
In his acceptance speech he acknowledged the ups and downs his career has seen.
“I started in this business 30 years ago, and things didn’t come easily to me. There was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time. Until it stopped,” he said. “And I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgment because it couldn’t be done without my cast.”
Brendan Fraser accepts the #Oscar for Best Actor for #TheWhale. https://t.co/ndiKiHfmID pic.twitter.com/kNuDy85dpH
— Variety (@Variety) March 13, 2023
This is Fraser’s first Oscars win, although he’s already scored several nominations for his performance as Charlie, a reclusive English teach with morbid obesity who tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter.
The Whale scored a total of three Oscar nominations and has already taken home the gong for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Hong Chau was also nominated Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Liz.
After becoming a household name for playing himbos in movies like The Mummy and George of the Jungle, Fraser took a step back from the spotlight in the early 2000s. The Whale has been hailed as his comeback, although he never stopped acting. Notably, he recently played the cowboy hat-wearing fixer James Fletcher Chase in Trust, a fictionalised account of the abduction of the heir to the Getty Oil company.
Last year, Will Smith won Best Actor for his performance as Richard Williams in King Richard. Smith was also involved in the infamous Oscars slap controversy, which prompted the Academy to hire a crisis team for this year’s ceremony.
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