Brendan Fraser could not contain his emotions after winning Best Actor at the Critics Choice Awards for his performance in “The Whale.” The 54-year-old actor, more than three decades after his movie breakthrough in “School Ties” and “Encino Man,” scored his first major victory of this awards season for his powerful role as an obese Idaho teacher.
“If you, like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this movie, in any way struggle with obesity,” he said, weeping, “or you just feel like you’re in a dark sea, I want you to know that if you, too, can have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light, good things will happen.”
Great comeback stories were in the air on Sunday night. In fact, Fraser hugged supporting actor winner Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) on his way to the stage. Some interesting history exists between the two: Quan, a popular child actor in the 1980s, was one of Fraser’s early costars in the 1992 comedy “Encino Man.”
Accepting his award, Fraser broke down in tears while referencing his character from “The Whale,” as you can see in the video above.
Fraser also called out his collaborators on “The Whale,” including director Darren Aronofsky and costars Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Sadie Sink.
The actor was facing major competition in the Best Actor lineup, including from Golden Globe winners Austin Butler for “Elvis” and Colin Farrell for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” in addition to Bill Nighy for “Living,” Paul Mescal for “Aftersun” and Tom Cruise for “Top Gun: Maverick.”
And after his win, Fraser reunited once again for a big hug with his friend and fellow winner Quan, as captured in this video.
Fraser has also been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award, another precursor to the Oscar nominations, which will be announced on January 24th.
