Oscars 2023: Brendan Fraser wins Best Actor for ‘The Whale’

Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for his performance as a 600-pound, reclusive English teacher, a transformative role that revived his career

Brendan Fraser poses with the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for “The Whale” in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. | Photo Credit: Photo courtesy: Invision via AP

Actor Brendan Fraser won the Best Actor in a Leading Role award at the 95th Academy Awards for his performance in The Whale, a transformative role that revived his career.

“I started in this business 30 years ago and things didn’t come easily to me,” said Fraser, breathing heavily. “I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgement.”

Fraser was one of five first-time nominees in the category, the first time that had happened since 1935. Fraser beat out Austin Butler of Elvis, Colin Farrell of The Banshees of Inisherin, Paul Mescal of Aftersun, and Bill Nighy of Living.

Fraser figures the role of Charlie, a 600-pound reclusive gay English teacher who tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter, found him at the perfect time.

Any earlier in his career, Fraser said, he wouldn't have had the life experience or heartache to authentically play a character who lives with sadness, pain and life-threatening obesity.

Fraser's portrayal earned him standing ovations at film festivals in Venice and Toronto, and the early praise continued building through the fall and winter. In addition to receiving the best reviews of his career, he earned a SAG Award for his performance. It's a career comeback, which Hollywood has always loved.

The 54-year-old American Canadian actor broke out in the early 1990s with the comedy Encino Man and the drama School Ties. He was the face on movie posters for George of the Jungle and The Mummy trilogy, where he worked with fellow Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh. He did dramatic turns in Gods and Monsters, The Quiet American, and 2006 best-picture winner Crash.

He had his share of projects that bombed, too. Then Fraser all but disappeared.

He was off the big screen for several years dealing with a series of personal issues involving divorce, his mother's death, health problems and an alleged assault by the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. He boycotted this year's Golden Globes as a result.

He regained career momentum with a series of cable TV shows before appearing in director Steven Soderbergh's movie No Sudden Move two years ago.