Brendan Fraser's Response To His Oscar Nomination Has Us All Choked Up
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for the 95th Oscars coming later this year. Among the various expected nods, snubs, and surprises from the Oscar nominations (sorry, Tom Cruise), actor Brendan Fraser received a best actor nomination for his role as Charlie in the A24 drama "The Whale" (via IMDb). Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the film follows an English teacher attempting to rebuild his relationship with his daughter, despite years of shame-induced self-isolation. Fraser's performance in the film has garnered nigh-innumerable high-profile accolades.
He is nominated alongside several other immensely talented actors, including Paul Mescal ("Aftersun"), Bill Nighy ("Living"), and Colin Farrell ("The Banshees of Inisherin"), all of whom have flown relatively under the radar in comparison to Fraser and Austin Butler ("Elvis"). Fraser and Butler both turned in career-defining performances in their quests for gold, and have arguably rivaled each other in terms of media buzz throughout this awards season. This is the first nomination received by all actors in this category this year, making it truly anyone's game.
For his part, Fraser seems overwhelmed and characteristically humbled just to be considered.
Brendan Fraser says The Whale changed his life
In a statement released by Brendan Fraser shortly after the announcement of his nomination for "The Whale," he said, "I'm absolutely overjoyed and deeply grateful to The Academy for this recognition." (via Yahoo! Entertainment). Fraser also thanked them for giving nods to make-up designer Adrien Morot, who helped create Fraser's prosthetics for "The Whale," and Hong Chau, Fraser's co-star, who was also nominated for best supporting actress (via IMDb).
He also gave thanks to two of his collaborators that weren't recognized by the Academy this morning — director Darren Aronofsky and writer Samuel D. Hunter, who both failed to break through the noise in a particularly tough year for their respective categories. "I wouldn't have this nomination without [Aronofsky], [Hunter], A24, and the extraordinary cast and crew who gave me the gift of Charlie," continued Fraser. "A gift I certainly didn't see coming, but it's one that has profoundly changed my life. Thank you."