Brendan Fraser was emotional as he delivered a heartfelt message during his acceptance speech at the Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday (You can watch a clip of Fraser’s speech below).
‘The Whale’ actor, who won best actor at the ceremony, reflected on his recent film about ‘love’, ‘redemption’ and ‘finding light in a dark place’, thanking those who made the film possible .
Fraser opened his speech with a reference to a joke by Herman Melville about the critics in America and noted that he was glad the critics had “woke up” to him.
The actor also thanked “The Whale” director Darren Aronofsky for showing him where he “should be” on Sunday.
“I was in the wild and I probably should have left a trail of crumbs, but you found me,” Fraser said.
“And like all the best directors, you showed me where to go to get where I needed to be.”
Fraser later spoke about the music trying to deny her and didn’t let that stop her powerful awards speech.
“If you — like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this movie — struggle with obesity in any way or feel like you’re in a dark sea. I want you to know that if you too can have the strength to stand up and walk in the light, good things will happen,” Fraser said.
Fraser later told reporters that the Best Actor award meant “more than [he knows] as expressed in words.”
“It was a leap of faith,” Fraser said of “The Whale.”
“We all approached this piece as if it was the first and last time we’d ever get a chance to do this kind of work again, every day, and I think this film can help us do that very well.”
