Emotions ran high in Los Angeles last night as Brendan Fraser triumphed against Austin Butler and Colin Farrell to win the award for Best Actor. The 54-year-old Whale actor was overcome with emotion as he won his award in front of a star-studded crowd and millions more who cheered him on from their living rooms. “So this is what the multiverse looked like,” he stated as he accepted the prize.
“I appreciate the Academy’s recognition… Thank you, Darren Aronofsky, for tossing me a creative lifeline and letting me get on board your film The Whale. He said, “You let up whale-sized emotions …,”” referring to his fellow best actor candidates. “And I feel privileged to be included on the same list as you.”
Fraser then extended his gratitude to Hong Chau, his co-star in The Whale, his boys, and his family. He remarked that the depths of Hong Chau’s genius are unfathomable to everyone except whales. “Thirty years ago, I entered this field… I didn’t value a service until it was taken away.” The actor’s tearful monologue moved viewers at home to tears.
“That’s fantastic news for Brendan Fraser, and I couldn’t be happier for him. Well deserved, and I’m enjoying his comeback story” was one tweet about the Oscars and the Academy Awards. A second commenter said, “Brendan Fraser winning an Oscar after being banned for speaking out about being sexually assaulted… “Yeah, I’m bawling my eyes out.” After being banned by Hollywood for many years for speaking out against sexual assault, Fraser finally found success.
Even though he was a significant box office draw in the 1990s and early 2000s with films like The Mummy and George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser suddenly stopped appearing in front of the camera. In 2018, Fraser explained his absence from red carpets and movie premieres, saying a prominent player in the entertainment world sexually attacked him.
The award-winning actor spoke out in 2018 about his experience as a victim of sexual harassment in Hollywood, namely at the hands of Philip Berk, the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).
“I had a childlike sense of shock and fear. Like a ball was stuck in my throat. I was about to burst into tears when… At least in my head, I felt something had been taken away”, Fraser continued by explaining how the claimed occurrence made him feel dejected and caused him to become a loner.