Brendan Fraser caps comeback with best actor Oscar win for The Whale

Brendan Fraser has scooped an Oscar for his archetypal pb relation successful a large movie for 12 years, successful The Whale.

His champion histrion triumph caps a comeback for 1 of Hollywood's erstwhile starring men who has admitted helium was near "in the wilderness" for a decade.

The aggravated play of The Whale allowed the Mummy and George of the Jungle prima to amusement a caller broadside to his talents.

Fraser plays a reclusive and morbidly obese English prof who wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Struggling to drawback his enactment successful an affectional acceptance speech, helium explained that erstwhile helium roseate to fame, helium had not afloat realised his vocation trajectory would not needfully continue.

"I started successful this concern 30 years ago, and things - they didn't travel easy to me, but determination was a installation that I didn't admit astatine the time. Until it stopped," helium said.

The Whale is simply a notation to Moby Dick, and successful 1 of respective nautical references, Fraser said helium felt similar helium had "been connected a diving expedition connected the bottommost of the ocean, and the aerial connected the enactment to the aboveground is connected a motorboat being watched implicit by immoderate radical successful my life".

They included his sons, manager and others. He besides thanked manager Darren Aronofsky for "throwing maine a originative lifeline and hauling maine aboard the bully vessel The Whale".

"Thank you again, each 1 and all. I'm truthful grateful to you," helium said.

Fraser emerged arsenic a large surface prima playing George of the Jungle successful 1997, past arsenic heartthrob Rick O'Connell successful the deed Mummy enactment trilogy from 1999-2008.

He took connected further melodramatic roles successful Gods and Monsters, The Quiet American and Crash, arsenic good arsenic phantasy roles successful Bedazzled and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

But his movie enactment slowed from the precocious 2000s, amid years of injuries sustained portion performing stunts, which resulted successful operations connected his spine, genu and vocal cords.

And pursuing the breakdown of his marriage, determination was a kid enactment outgo ineligible battle, portion helium besides made a intersexual battle allegation against a starring Hollywood figure.

In 2018, helium said Philip Berk, caput of Golden Globes organising assemblage the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), had groped his bottommost successful 2003. The HFPA recovered that Mr Berk "inappropriately touched" Fraser, but that it "was intended to beryllium taken arsenic a gag and not arsenic a intersexual advance".

Fraser has said the incidental "made maine retreat" and "feel reclusive".

When the large roles dried up, helium recovered it tough. "Your consciousness of worth comes from the enactment that you're doing oregon if you're capable adjacent to beryllium asked oregon invited to travel and bash it," explained Fraser.

"I realised I needed to instrumentality attraction of immoderate carnal things and chips and hips and joints and each of that aesculapian curio that I'd earned on my travel successful making those films aboriginal on, and I'm [now] acceptable to commencement again."

Since The Whale's satellite premiere successful September, the star's show was talked astir arsenic 1 of the astir almighty of the year, and possibly the champion of his career.

In its review, the Telegraph awarded 5 stars, calling the movie "a happening of quality and power". BBC Culture declared that the "captivating" Fraser "deserves an Oscar".

The Guardian was little impressed, however, giving 2 stars for Fraser's "disappointing instrumentality to movies", describing it arsenic "a hectoring invitation to blubber".

In January, the returning US-Canadian actor, 54, told BBC News helium hoped the diagnostic would assistance to "end the bias against those who unrecorded with obesity".

Referring to his character, helium said helium felt the request "to beryllium the dependable for those who unrecorded the mode that Charlie does", and "to picture him with dignity and with respect successful a mode that we haven't seen that quality played connected surface before".

"We tin often suffer show that those are quality beings with thoughts and feelings and hearts and families," helium told BBC amusement analogous Lizo Mzimba.

Fraser's on-screen translation was the effect of dense prosthetics, which helium admitted was "a challenge", physically and emotionally.

But the "fat suit", arsenic good arsenic Fraser's casting arsenic the cheery quality positive the film's depiction of Charlie, caused contention successful immoderate quarters.

Mean Girls prima Daniel Franzese questioned wherefore Fraser was chosen. "He's a beauteous man. And it's great," he told People successful September.

"But why? Why spell up determination and deterioration a abdominous suit to play a 400lb queer man?... Who knows much astir being an obese queer antheral than an obese queer man?"

US writer and commentator Roxane Gay wrote successful the New York Times that the movie was "emotionally devastating" - but called the usage of a abdominous suit "abhorrent" and said: "How this movie deals with Charlie's fatness is egregious: exploitative and astatine times cruel."

She suggested it was "crystal clear" that Aronofsky and writer Samuel D Hunter "considered fatness to beryllium the eventual quality failure, thing despicable, to beryllium avoided astatine each costs".

As good arsenic getting the Oscar, Fraser has won champion histrion prizes astatine the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Critics Choice Awards.

"This movie, The Whale, is astir love," helium stated. "It's astir redemption. It's astir uncovering the airy successful a acheronian place."

While the past decennary whitethorn person been difficult, helium has enjoyed riding the grant play wave.

When asked by TV chat amusement big Graham Norton whether helium approved of radical calling this play his "Brenaissance", Fraser replied: "You tin telephone maine immoderate you like, conscionable arsenic agelong arsenic you're calling me."