Call it the comeback year for Hollywood stars.
Actor Brendan Fraser broke into tears as he won the best actor trophy for "The Whale" at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards Sunday night.
The 54-year-old actor beat out Austin Butler ("Elvis"), Tom Cruise ("Top Gun: Maverick"), Colin Farrell ("The Banshees of Inisherin"), Paul Mescal ("Aftersun") and Bill Nighy ("Living") to clinch the award.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Fraser noted "The Whale" is about "finding the light in a dark place" and shared a powerful message for those suffering emotionally.
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“If you, like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this movie, in any way, struggle with obesity, or you just feel like you’re in a dark sea, I want you to know that if you too, can have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light, good things will happen," Fraser said through tears.
He thanked the film's director, Darren Aronofsky, for casting him in the critically acclaimed career comeback role at a time when Fraser said he was lost in a dark place in his own life.
"I was in the wilderness and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs, but you found me, and like all the best directors, you merely just showed me where to go to get me where I needed to be," Fraser said." Fraser said
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In "The Whale," Fraser plays an English teacher housebound by severe obesity and trying to restore his relationship with his teen daughter.
After his speech, Fraser was asked by reporters in the backstage press room what winning the award meant to him, and the still teary-eyed "The Mummy" star responded: "More than I know how to saw in words."
He called making the film "an act of faith," saying he approached the project as if it were the "first and last time we would ever have the privilege to be able to do this type of work ever again."
