Brendan Fraser scores Best Actor win at 6th Annual HCA Film Awards
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The sixth annual Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Film Awards took place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Friday, February 24.
In all, HCA members voted in 19 different categories celebrating the best of cinema in 2022.
Among the winners at the ceremony: Brendan Fraser, who took home the Best Actor trophy for his acclaimed performance as a reclusive and morbidly obese English teacher in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological drama film The Whale.
It is widely considered the Indianapolis, Indiana native’s ‘comeback movie’, having worked on just three films since 2014.
At Friday’s ceremony, Fraser beat out some formidable competition, including Austin Butler (Elvis), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick).
Later, he proudly posed for the photographers, with his trophy in hand, dressed in a black suit.
Big win: Brendan Fraser, 54, won the Best Actor trophy for his performance in the dramatic film The Whale at the 6th Annual Hollywood Film Critics Guild Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Century City , Calif., on Friday.
Fraser was also joined for some photos with her former colleague Christa Miller.
Scrubs fans will remember that Fraser had a memorable guest performance on the hit medical comedy where he played Ben Sullivan, a leukemia patient and brother to Jordan (Christa Miller) and Danni (Tara Reid).
At one point during their time together in the spotlight, Miller, 58, snuggled up to her old friend looking chic in a black dress with her dark brown hair flowing.
In the wake of his success at the Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards ceremony, Fraser has now won two Best Actor trophies at major award shows.
For his riveting performance as Charlie, a recluse who has seen his weight exceed 600 pounds over time, Fraser had already won Best Actor at the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards in January.
He also earned nominations for Best Actor at the 80th Golden Globe Awards and Best Lead Actor at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, both nominations going to Austin Butler for his role in the Elvis biopic.
Fraser also has a nomination pending for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards, which takes place on February 26 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, California.
The former Mummy star also earned a Best Actor nomination at the 95th Academy Awards, which takes place on March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
For the role of Charlie, Fraser spent four hours each day with prosthetics weighing up to 300 pounds. He also consulted with the Obesity Action Coalition and worked with a dance instructor for months before filming began to determine how his character would move with the excess weight.
At first, when The Whale made its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival last September, Fraser broke down in tears of happiness when he received a six-minute standing ovation.
It went on to have a limited theatrical release in the US on December 9, 2022, before a general release on December 21, just in time to be considered for many of the various award shows.
At Friday’s ceremony, Fraser beat out some formidable competition, including Austin Butler (Elvis), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick).
Reunion: Fraser also joined for some photos with former colleague Christa Miller
For his riveting performance as Charlie, a recluse who has seen his weight exceed 600 pounds over time, Fraser had already won Best Actor at the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards in January.
It is widely regarded as the Indianapolis, Indiana native’s ‘comeback movie’, having worked on just three films since 2014; seen in the whale
So far, as of February 24, The Whale has grossed $28.4 million against a budget of just $3 million, but that’s likely to increase after it gets more recognition from the different award shows yet to come.
Along with the leading man, the cast also stars Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton.
Some of the other HCR winners included Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once) for Best Actress; Ke Huy Quan (All at Once, Everywhere) for Best Supporting Actor; and Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) for Best Supporting Actress
The Best Picture award went to Everything Everywhere All At Once; Sarah Polley (Talking Women) won Best Adapted Screenplay; and Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once) won Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.