The actor has won the award for ‘The Whale’ at the Hollywood Actors Guild Awards, where he has given another moving speech.
Brendan Fraser continues his path on that arduous path of resurgence. The one that the actor started at the Venice festival when he presented ‘The Whale’.
The 54-year-old actor took home the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture at the 2023 SAG Awards this past Sunday night. Fraser won for his critically acclaimed performance in the story about a morbidly obese man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale,’ an adaptation of Samuel Hunter’s play of the same name.
“This is great: a naked man who decides to smile or frown, like an actor,” said Fraser, referring to the statuette he had just won. “I’m going to treasure this, but never more than I treasured, which I used to keep in my wallet, my SAG card that I got in 1991. It made me feel like I belonged here. We are actors, we all want to belong to a tribe. If you had told that guy right then that he would be standing here right now, he wouldn’t have believed you.“.
“I would never have believed that I would have been offered the role of my life in this character of Charlie in ‘The Whale’. He is someone who is in a raft of regrets, but in a sea of hope. I’ve been in that sea and I’ve ridden that wave lately. And he’s been powerful, and he’s been good, but he’s also crushed me to the bottom of the ocean and washed my face away and ended up on a strange beach in a different world wondering, ‘Where am I now?'”
Fraser was up against Austin Butler for ‘Elvis’, Colin Farrell for ‘The Banshees at Inisherin’, Bill Nighy for ‘Living’ and Adam Sandler for ‘Hustle’. While Fraser was an early Oscar nominee, fellow Best Actor nominees in a leading role, Farrell and Butler, seemed to be gaining points for the Academy Award in recent weeks.. Fraser’s win shakes things up again. His role in Aronofsky’s latest film has earned Fraser the best reviews of his career, earning him his first Best Actor nomination at the SAG Awards (and also at the Oscars).
“I just want you to know for real, all the actors that have been through it, that are going through it, I know how they feel.“, he concluded. “Trust me, if you stay there and put one foot in front of the other, you’ll get where you need to go. be brave“.
Brendan Fraser’s downfall happened throughout most of the 2010s. In addition to his working life, the mental toll of going public with sexual assault allegations against a former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which took place in 2003, but ‘The Whale’ marked the peak of a career resurgence and return to movie stardom.
The 2023 awards season plays in favor of the actor from the ‘The Mummy’ saga. This in fact has not been the only speech that has moved the audience. When the actor won the award at the Critics Choice Awards in January, Fraser accepted his award with hopeful words: “I was totally lost in the woods and maybe I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs, but you found me.” said on January 15.
Fraser is nominated for an Oscar along with Austin Butler (‘Elvis’), Colin Farrell (‘Inisherin’s Banshee), Paul Mescal (‘Aftersun’) or Bill Nighy (‘Living’). Although he has tough opponents for next March 12, the day that the 95th edition of the Oscars will be held, Fraser is closer to taking the stage and adding an Oscar, a great finishing touch to that resurgence of his career. .
Source: Fotogramas
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
