Brendan Fraseris celebrating his film roots.
TheAcademy Award-nominated star — who is currently wowing audiences in his new filmThe Whale— surprised a packed house in a London theater about to show his hit 1999 adventure filmThe Mummyon Friday night.
Fraser, 54, was met withloud cheers and a standing ovationafter being introduced right before the movie began at thePrince CharlesCinema, much to the actor’s delight.
“I am proud to stand before you tonight,” Fraser began. “This is a film that was made in Britain. You should know that! … Eventhe second one, too.”
“Be proud. Thank you for being here,” he continued.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Brendan Fraser.The Prince Charles Cinema/YouTube
Fraser — who was wearing a leather jacket, khakis and boots reminiscent of his character Rick O’Connell from the movie — revealed to the crowd that whilethey were filmingThe Mummy,they weren’t sure how the film would turn out.
“We had no idea what kind of movie we were making when we shot this,” he said. “We didn’t know if it was a drama or a comedy or a straight-ahead action, romance, horror picture … all the above?”
“[We had] no idea until it tested in front of British audiences,” he added, as the audience let out a collective chuckle. “Thank you for that.”
Fraser certainly has a lot to smile about these days. On Tuesday, the starearned his first Oscar nominationfor his performance inThe Whale, which comes out in the U.K. on Feb 3.
The actor was named among the five nominees for Best Actor, recognized for his performance inThe Whale. The drama was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for costarHong Chauand Best Makeup & Hairstyling for the team that transformed Fraser into his 600-lb. character, Charlie.
Brendan Fraser.Amy Sussman/Getty
“I wouldn’t have this nomination without [director]Darren Aronofsky, [writer]Samuel D. Hunter, A24 and the extraordinary cast and crew who gave me the gift of Charlie,” the actor continued. “A gift I certainly didn’t see coming, but it’s one that has profoundly changed my life. THANK YOU!”
Also nominated in the category areAustin Butler(Elvis),Colin Farrell(The Banshees of Inisherin),Paul Mescal(Aftersun) andBill Nighy(Living).
Fraser, who also receivedGolden Globeand SAG Award nominations, won the Critics Choice Award earlier this month,getting emotional in his acceptance speech.
He describedThe Whaleas a film “about love,” adding, “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.”
source: people.com
