Brendan Fraser is a winner at the 2023SAG Awards!
“I never would have believed I would have been offered the role of my life in this character, Charlie inThe Whale, he’s someone who is on a raft of regrets but he’s in a sea of hope,” the actor said, after recounting that he first received his SAG-AFTRA card in 1991.
“I’ve been at that sea, and I’ve rode that wave lately and it’s been powerful and good and I’ve also had that wave smash me right down to the ocean floor and drag my face along there and wind up on some strange beach in a different world, wondering ‘where am I now?’ " Fraser continued in his speech.
“I just want you to know, for real, all the actors out there who have gone through that, who are going through that, I know how you feel,” he added. “But believe me, if you just stay in there and you put one foot in front of the other, you get to where you need to go. Have courage.”
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Fraser’s commitment toThe Whale, in which he plays a 600-lb. man who reckons with the limits of his reclusive life over a period of five days, has earned him multiple award nods, including aGolden Globenomination andCritics Choice Awardwin.
On Jan. 5, Fraser — who made his triumphant return to the big screen withThe Whale— also clinched the Spotlight Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards. He has also enjoyed multiple extended standing ovations at film festivals.
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He added, “That’s gratifying, to say at least, and that kind of opportunity does not come along in this circus show of show business that we all play along with sometimes.”
“But when it does, andit’s material that’s handled with careand the project comports itself in a way that’s interesting and important, I feel very fortunate and lucky to be a part of it,” said Fraser.
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In his emotionalacceptance speech for best actorat last month’s Critics Choice Awards, Fraser thanked the Critics Choice Association, then joked, “It was Herman Melville who once wrote that there are only five critics in America — the rest are asleep. I don’t know what it means, either, but I’m sure glad you woke up for me. Where were you forFurry Vengeance?!”, calling out his 2010 comedy costarring Brooke Shields andKen Jeong.
He went on to describeThe 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,” includingHong Chau,Sadie Sink,Ty Simpkinsand playwright/screenwriterSamuel D. Hunter.
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The 2023SAG Awardsceremony are airing live on Netflix’s YouTube Channel from the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
source: people.com
