Brendan Fraser won Best Actor at the Critics Choice Awards for his work on The Whale and delivered one of the most emotional speeches of the night.
Fraser began to cry when his name was announced as the winner, and as he took the stage he quoted that Herman Melville “once wrote that in America there are only five critics, the rest are asleep.” Though the actor said , not knowing exactly what that meant, he said he was “glad [the critics] woke up for me.”
He continued, “This movie, The Whale, is about love, it’s about redemption. It’s about finding the light in a dark place and I’m so lucky to have worked with an incredible cast.”
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Fraser went on to recognize his co-stars, who named Hong Chau, saying they “should have their own movie based on every character she’s ever played.” Sadie Sink also got a shoutout, noting that she was “amazing.” Fraser called Sam Hunter his “beacon” and said that Ty Simpkins “won the cue ball every day.”
“Darren Aronofsky, I was out in the wild and probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs, but you found me,” he added. “And like all the best directors, you just showed me where to go to get where I needed to be.”
Fraser ended his speech with a powerful message, saying, “If, like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this film, you’re struggling with obesity in any way, or you just feel like you’re in a dark sea feel. I want you to know that you too can have the power to just stand up and go to the light. Good things will happen.”
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As the actor went backstage, he said the award meant “more than I can put into words,” adding that shooting the film was “an act of faith.” We all approached this piece as if it was the first and last time we would ever have the chance to do this kind of work… I think this film can go a long way toward doing a lot of good.”
Watch his speech in the video posted below.
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Katie Campione contributed to this report.