The actor, who delighted millions in the 1990s with “The Mummy” y “George of the Jungle“, conquered the voters of the Academia by embodying an obese professor who, tormented by grief, eats compulsively.
Best Actor in a Leading Role goes to Brendan Fraser! #Oscars #Oscars95 pic.twitter.com/rWIHrR9BS9
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 13, 2023
“I started in this business 30 years ago, and things were not easy for me,” he said on the verge of tears when receiving the statuette. “Thank you for this recognition.”
“The Whale” by Darren Aronofskymarks the return of the 54-year-old actor who paused his career in the 2000s amid a personal crisis and after accusing an industry figure of sexual harassment.
The world’s most anticipated comeback, Brendan Fraser wins the #Oscars for best actor for his role in #LaBallena. I need to hug him, I love him so much. ???? #HBOMax pic.twitter.com/A32iXKtbmx
— HBO Max Latin America (@HBOMaxLA) March 13, 2023
In the tape, adapted from a play by Samuel D. Hunter, Fraser reappears unrecognizably as Charlie, a 600-pound English teacher who teaches by video call, only has personal contact with his nurse and friend Liz (Hong Chau), and barely gets up from the couch.
The drama follows Charlie’s (Brendan Fraser) attempts to reconnect with his rebellious and distant teenage daughter Ellie, played by Sadie Sinkthe young star of the series “Stranger Things“.
He actorWrapped in prosthetics to simulate being overweight, he uses his voice and facial expressions to convey the agony and resignation of a human being who feels lost but who has explosions of passion and hope.
“Charlie is by far the most heroic man I’ve ever played,” Fraser said at the film’s world premiere in Venice last year. “His superpower from him is to see the good in others and bring it out.”
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Brendan’s Vertiginous Rise
Fraser was born to Canadian parents on December 3, 1968 in Indiana, central United States. Theater sparked her interest in acting from a very young age, and after graduating from Cornish College for the Arts in Seattle, Fraser settled in Los Angeles in the early 1990s.
The tinsel city welcomed him with open arms, and he soon appeared in films, including “Presumed Guilty” (1991), alongside Martin Sheen, and “California Man” (1992), where he played a thawed caveman. by teenagers.
The tall, charismatic, light-eyed actor became a constant figure on the big screen, often with characters exploring worlds unknown.
He drew tears in “Code of Honor” (1992), garnered laughs with “George of the Jungle” (1997), and rocked the box office with adventurer Rick O’Conell in “The Mummy” (1999), which had two sequels.
In 1998, Fraser married fellow actress Afton Smith and they had three children.
Later, he starred with Liz Hurley in a new version of “To Hell with the Devil” (2000), and three years later he directed “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.”
Fraser starred in more than 40 feature films, including “Cross Lives” (2004), Oscar for Best Picture, until he disappeared from Hollywood posters.
Redemption
Brendan Fraser went some way to explaining his withdrawal in 2018, when he accused Philip Berk, former president of the HFPA, which awards the Golden Globes, of sexually assaulting him in 2003.
But Brendan Fraser has said the psychological impact of the alleged attack, coupled with frustrations in his career and a publicized and costly divorce from Smith, took their toll on him.
In the 2000s, the actor also suffered a series of physical injuries, many on sets during stunt sequences, eventually requiring multiple surgeries to his knees, back, and vocal cords.
He has participated in a few television series in recent years, but it was “The Whale” and his story of redemption that restored his star status.
For this role he also won an award from the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG) and a Critics Choice Award.
His recent projects include Steven Soderbergh’s “Not a False Step” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”, soon to be released.
In taking his first Oscar, Fraser beat out Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“The Spirits of the Island), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) and Bill Nighy (“Living”).
The actor is in a relationship with makeup artist Jeanne Moore.