Oscars 2023
The actor wins the award for his performance as a reclusive, morbidly obese teacher in the drama directed by Darren Aronofsky
Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor for The Whale at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Fraser plays a morbidly obese teacher in the film, which was directed by Darren Aronofsky and adapted by Samuel D. Hunter from his own play. Fraser defeated a field of competitors including Elvis’ Austin Butler and The Banshees of Inisherin’s Colin Farrell.
“All the hyperventilating makes you dizzy”: Brendan Fraser and Darren Aronofsky in “The Whale.”
The role has already earned Fraser Best Actor nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Awards, as well as Best Actor nominations for the Baftas and Golden Globes (for motion picture drama). Fraser chose not to participate in the latter after alleging in 2018 that former Golden Globes President Philip Berk sexually assaulted him in 2003. Berk called the allegation “a total fabrication.” An internal investigation concluded that Berk had “inappropriately touched” Fraser but said Berk’s action “should be taken as a joke and not a sexual advance.”
An emotional Fraser took the stage and exclaimed, “So this is what the multiverse looks like!”
He paid tribute to the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, and writer Samuel Hunter, saying, “You have bared your whale-sized hearts for us to see into your souls.”
He concluded his speech with a nod to his early years in the industry. “I started in this business 30 years ago,” he said. “Things didn’t come easy to me, but there was one facility I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped.”
Finally, he thanked his three sons and his “first mate”, partner Jeanne Moore.
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