Brendan Fraser, a megastar of the ’90s and early 2000s won the best-actor Oscar for his transformative stunning performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.
So this is what the multiverse looks like. My goodness. I thank the Academy for this honor and our studio, A24, for making such a bold film. And I’m thankful to Darren Aronofsky for tossing me a innovative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship ‘The Whale’.”
Fraser said upon taking the stage.
He then thanked screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter, the film’s “lighthouse,” and his fellow nominees, who lay their whale-sized hearts bare so that we could see into your souls as no one else could do. It is my honor to be named alongside you in this category.
Fraser told Vanity Fair for a first-look feature on The Whale that “I wanted to be reintroduced,”. The Director of “The Whale”, Aronofsky said that he imagined “every movie star” in the role of Charlie, an English teacher grieving the loss of his partner and binge-eating to the point that he has become housebound. Only when he thought of Fraser, Aronofsky said, did the character of Charlie truly click.
I want to learn from the people I’m working with at this point in my career. I’ve had such variety, a lot of high highs and low lows, so what I’m keen for, in the second half of my time doing this, is to feel like I’m contributing to the craft and I’m learning from it. This is a prime opportunity. I wanted to disappear into it. I hoped that I would become unrecognizable.”
Fraser said.
Fraser, who grew into a celebrity in the ’90s with roles in the Mummy franchise and the acclaimed Gods and Monsters, had footed back from fame in recent years. After a series of surgeries and some major roles, he skipped out on, he told GQ, he was ready for a break.
I bought into the pressure that comes with the hopes and aims that come with a professional life that’s being molded and shaped and guided and managed. I couldn’t be a part of it. I didn’t feel that I belonged.”
Fraser said.
His role in The Whale achieved tremendous honor from the moment it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last decline. When The Banshees of Inisherin also premiered at that festival, and star Colin Farrell won the festival’s best-actor award, the Oscar race seemed down to Fraser, Farrell, and Elvis star Austin Butler. Bill Nighy for Living and Paul Mescal for Aftersun eventually joined them as Oscar nominees. The precursor awards, however, belonged to Butler—who won at BAFTA and the Golden Globes—and Fraser, who won at SAG and Critics Choice
