Brendan Fraser Accepts Best Actor Oscar With Emotional Speech

Brendan Fraser accepted the Oscar for Best Actor at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night. The honor came for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. On stage, he broke down into tears while thanking the director, his family, and his other colleagues.

“Gentlemen, you laid your whale-sized hearts to bare so we could see into your souls like no one else could do,” he said. “It is my honor to be named alongside you in this category.” From there, he reflected on the ups and downs of his 30-year career. “I want to tell you that only whales can swim at the depth of the talent of Hong Chau,” Fraser said, before adding, “I started in this business 30 years ago, and things didn’t come easily to me, but there was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped. I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgment because it couldn’t be done without my cast.”

Brendan Fraser On Stage

“It’s been like a bit of a diving expedition at the bottom of the ocean and the air on the line to the surface is … being watched over by some people in my life,” he added. Fraser also thanked his fellow Best Actor nominees, who included Austin Butler for Elvis, Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin, Paul Mescal for Aftersun, and Bill Nighy for Living. 

Elsewhere in the night, Michelle Yeoh took home the award for Best Actress, while her Everything Everywhere All at Once collaborators Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won Best Director. Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis also won for their supporting roles. The film as a whole also notched the award for Best Picture. Check out the full list of winners and nominees from last night’s 95th Academy Awards here.

Brendan Fraser’s Acceptance Speech

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