“If you too just have the strength to get to your feet….”: The Whale Star Brendan Fraser Wins Best Actor Award, Proceeds To Give Best Comeback Speech of the Century
The Whale actor Brendan Fraser gave the night’s most emotional speech at the Critics Choice Awards 2023 after winning the Best Actor award for the movie. During his speech at the award ceremony, he left no one in the audience dry-eyed. While holding back tears, Brendan Fraser shared a powerful message and won the hearts of all those present during his speech. The actor is best known for his roles in blockbuster movies, comedies, and dramatic movies, most notably The Mummy and George of the Jungle, but he is definitely going to be known more for The Whale now as he underwent “absolutely” for another level of transformation where he showed the challenges of obesity, and it’s after effects.
Austin Butler, Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal, and Bill Nighy were all up for the honor along with Brendan Fraser at the Critics Choice Awards 2023, but The Whale actor’s Best Actor Award victory speech stole the show.
Brendan Fraser Won Best Actor Award For The Whale And Gave A Heartfelt Speech
On Sunday, Brendan Fraser accepted his Critics Choice Award for Best Actor for his role in The Whale with tears of joy in his eyes. In the film, 53-year-old Fraser plays the role of Charlie, a 600-pound gay, reclusive man who feels his life is coming to an end. When Fraser was announced as the winner, he started crying and took the stage, saying,
“It was Herman Melville who once wrote that there are only five critics in America — the rest are asleep.”
He added,
“I don’t know what it means, either, but I’m sure glad you woke up for me. Where were you for ‘Furry Vengeance?’”
Fraser continued,
“This movie, The Whale, it’s about love; it’s about redemption. It’s about finding the light in a dark place, and I’m so lucky to have worked with an ensemble that is incredible.”
He thanked his co-stars, including Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, and playwright/screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter.
He said,
“And Darren Aronofsky, I was in the wilderness — and I probably should’ve left a trail of breadcrumbs — but you found me, and like all the best directors, you merely just showed me where to go to get me where I needed to be.”
Fraser got emotional during his speech, and he concluded with tears in his eyes,
“If you — like Charlie, who I played in this movie — in any way, struggle with obesity, 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.”
A Twitter handle named ‘Discussing Film‘ tweeted about Fraser’s speech along with a short clip that melted fans’ hearts too, and the tweet got immense emotional responses. Which reads,
“Brendan Fraser’s emotional acceptance speech at the #CriticsChoiceAwards”
Brendan Fraser’s emotional acceptance speech at the #CriticsChoiceAwards
See the full winners list: https://t.co/7bQikYH6Le pic.twitter.com/j0cj0tw3YQ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 16, 2023
Critics Choice Award’s official Twitter handle also tweeted about the news, and fans excitedly praised his victory:
Congratulations to #BrendanFraser, winner of the #CriticsChoice Award for Best Actor.#TheWhale #CriticsChoiceAwards pic.twitter.com/WNZGL4I3gI
— Critics Choice Awards (@CriticsChoice) January 16, 2023
Critics Choice Award’s official Twitter handle also tweeted about the news, and fans praised his victory with full of excitement. There were five competing films that Fraser competed against and won the Best Actor, Austin Butler in Elvis, Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin, Paul Mescal in Aftersun, and Bill Nighy in Living.
A Powerful Message From Brendan Fraser Gave Goosebumps To Audience
In his opinion, The Whale conveys a powerful message, as remarked by actor Brendan Fraser. According to reports, during the movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival in New York City late last year, the actor said that the movie “is about kindness and empathy.”
He said,
“We live in a cynical world, and this film is the antidote. It’s easy and cheap to be cynical — it doesn’t take much intelligence at all — but to act with authenticity and dignity, that’s where the real work is.”
Fraser told Page Six that whether it’s movie critics or online trolls, he has experienced the cruelty of people so many times in the modern world, especially in terms of body shaming. Fraser delivers an outstanding performance in this critically acclaimed movie, which is already getting serious Oscar buzz and won the CCA 2023 award; in which he plays an obese, reclusive English teacher, Charlie, who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter Ellie, portrayed by Sadie Sink of Stranger Things fame.
The Whale is available in most theaters right now.
Source: Twitter
