Brendan Fraser has officially received his first Oscar nomination, and he says that he’s “absolutely overjoyed and deeply grateful” for the nomination. Amazingly, after a decades-long career in Hollywood, Brendan Fraser is just now receiving his first nomination for his performance as Charlie, the lead character in The Whale, which also stars Stranger Things star Sadie Sink.
Brendan Fraser, whose acting career began in earnest in the late 1990s, has starred in iconic roles like George in George of the Jungle (1997) and adventurer Rick O’Connell in The Mummy franchise, beginning with The Mummy in 1999 and reaching until The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and the tie-in video game in 2008. Aside from those roles, Brendan Fraser has most recently starred as Cliff Steele aka Robotman in Doom Patrol on HBO Max.
The role that awarded Brendan Fraser his first Oscar nomination in 30 years, however, is his performance in The Whale (2022) where he plays Charlie, a morbidly obese, reclusive English teacher who, despite having no regular contact with human beings outside of his at-home nurse Liz (Hong Chau), is desperately trying to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) despite the wishes of his ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton). After his secret meetings with Ellie eventually fall through, his reclusive life begins to unravel, and his obesity – caused by grief-driven binge eating after the death of his brother – only gets worse, Charlie is forced to tackle his own inner demons before he loses the people closest to him – and himself.
Brendan Fraser Receives Oscar Nomination for ‘The Whale’, Calls it ‘A Gift’
Brendan Fraser has received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in response to his performance as Charlie, according to PEOPLE Magazine. Hong Chau has also been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Liz, along with Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the team responsible for turning Brendan Fraser into 600-lb Charlie.
In a statement released following the news of his nomination, Fraser told Good Morning America that he’s “absolutely overjoyed and deeply grateful to The Academy for this recognition and for recognizing Hong Chau’s beautiful performance and Adrien Morot’s incredible makeup.”
“I wouldn’t have this nomination without [director] Darren Aronofsky, [writer]Â Samuel D. Hunter, A24, and the extraordinary cast and crew who gave me the gift of Charlie,” he said. “A gift I certainly didn’t see coming, but it’s one that has profoundly changed my life. THANK YOU!”
Fraser is reportedly one of five nominees in the Best Actor category, alongside Austin Bulter in Elvis, Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin, Paul Mescal in Aftersun, and Bill Nighy in Living. What do you think of Brendan Fraser’s performance in The Whale? Do you think he has a good shot at the Oscar Award? Let us know in the comments below!