Brendan Fraser won the Academy Award for Best Actor last year for his portrayal of Charlie, a 600-pound English teacher trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter, in the 2022 film ’The Whale.’
When asked how the award impacted his career during a recent chat with Deadline Hollywood, he said, “I wanna say I know the answer to that, but I’m living it, and the answer is, of course, there are opportunities that reveal themselves that I wouldn’t have qualified for and that’s fair. Prior, I was humbled by the whole experience it could have gone any number of ways during the whole time leading up to the moment.”
“I think of the friends I made along the way and of those who I’ve worked with before, and I feel honored, really, to have joined the ranks of those who have gone before me, from whom I learned so much and whom I feel I have an obligation to uphold a standard for those who are yet to come up,” the actor continued.
Fraser, widely remembered for his role as Rick O’Connell in ’The Mummy’ franchise, faced a period of relative inactivity in the film industry from early 2000s to mid-2010s. This was due to a series of box office setbacks and personal issues, including the fallout from a sexual assault he experienced in 2003 by the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Philip Berk.
His role in ’The Whale’ marked his return to the spotlight, winning him the award over nominees Austin Butler (’Elvis’), Colin Farrell (’The Banshees of Inisherin’), Paul Mescal (’Aftersun’), and Bill Nighy (’Living’).
“I’m still pinching myself, and I don’t think that’ll ever change,” further shared the actor, tearing up. “I’m still astonished when people recognize me on the street anyway because I’ve never really gotten past the feeling of being told, ‘Fraser, get back in the dish pit,’ you know. ‘You’ve got work to do.’ And I hope it never leaves.”
“If it’s something I learned from Ian McKellen, it was that you need to approach this job as if it’s the first time and the last time you ever will ever again, and that’s when the work comes alive.”
This year, Fraser appeared in Max Barbakow’s ’Brothers’ as Jimmy Farful. He is now working on a historical drama directed by Anthony Maras with Andrew Scott.
