The Brenaissance continues, as Brendan Fraser is bowling audiences over with his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, which is making the rounds on the festival circuit. The Fraser’s 24 movie is being lauded by festival-goers and was generating Oscar buzz even ahead of its premiere. But it’s Fraser’s personal triumph that fans seem to be connecting with most. After the actor was brought to tears during a six-minute standing ovation at The Whale’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, he got emotional all over again when he accepted the TIFF Tribute Award ahead on September 11.
Brendan Fraser seems to be in the midst of a comeback, after reportedly being blacklisted for years after he came forward with sexual assault allegations against a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Following another long standing ovation for Fraser at the Toronto International Film Festival, fans continued to throw their support behind the actor, with many, like this Twitter user, saying Fraser gives them hope:
Seeing Brendan Fraser recieveing must deserved love & respect with a smile on his face that seems so heartwarming & genuine gives me hope that even when you have gone through the worst trauma in your life, there can be happiness again and honestly that’s all I ever wanted, hope.September 12, 2022
People are already predicting that the star will be among those nominated for an Academy Award, and one fan noted that after the Will Smith slapping incident from the 2022 ceremony, the collective positivity of supporting Fraser might be just the morale boost that the Oscars need:
If last year’s weird toxic Oscar ceremony can shift to Brendan Fraser leading the race with his positivity, I’ll happily watch the show again just as I have years beforeSeptember 12, 2022
Critics continued to gush about The Whale at TIFF, with THR’s Scott Feinberg tweeting that Brendan Fraser will be the man to beat at the 2023 Academy Awards:
THE WHALE, which just premiered at TIFF, was a risky movie to make. Tonally, it could’ve so easily gone wrong. The glue that holds it together, because his humanity can shine through any amount of prosthetics, is Brendan Fraser, who’s now your man to beat in the best actor race.
While surely the actor appreciates and deserves all of the accolades and affirmation the awards provide, it goes deeper than that for many of his fans. His perseverance to fight through his hardships has been an inspiration for many, and people like this Twitter user are so happy to see his strength pay off now:
I know to a lot of people that Brendan Fraser is ‘just an actor’, but to me, he is so much more. His work has been there for me during the hardest times in my life and seen me through to the other side and the thought of his eventual comeback gave me hope for the future.September 12, 2022
Social media users seem overcome with the actor’s genuine emotion and appreciation, as he finally receives the credit that many feel is overdue:
I just ugly cried watching Brendan Fraser accept an award so yeah that happened. He might be in the running for nicest human on earth.September 12, 2022
It certainly is heartwarming to see Brendan Fraser come out on the other side of everything he’s been through, and I’m sure we’ll be able to continue to celebrate the actor as we wait to see what awards and roles this leads to for him. As for The Whale, audiences still have a while to wait before being able to catch this movie in theaters. The film is set for theatrical release on Friday, December 9. In the meantime, check out our 2022 movie release schedule to see what else is coming soon!