LOS ANGELES: Brendan Fraser won his first Academy Award on Sunday for his performance as a 600-pound (270-kg) gay man trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter in “The Whale.”
Fraser was already touted as an Oscar contender when Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller premiered at last summer’s Venice Film Festival. The film was adapted from Samuel Hunter's 2012 play of the same name.
The role marked his return to the big screen as a leading man after a nine-year absence from major roles. Once the star of big releases like “George of the Jungle” and the action-packed “Mummy” trilogy, Fraser had largely retreated from the limelight in part due to injuries sustained from doing stunts.
The 54-year-old actor took on a new set of physical challenges for “The Whale.” He wore a heavy bodysuit, prosthetics and makeup, which could take up to six hours to apply, to embody the story's obese hero, Charlie. The result left him barely able to walk in his character's cramped home.
"I needed to learn to absolutely move in a new way. I developed muscles I did not know I had," the American-Canadian actor told reporters in Venice in September, saying that it was the most challenging part of his career.
The film drew criticism from some reviewers who said its depiction of Charlie relied on tropes of depressed, obese people. Some spoke out against its use of prosthetics rather than casting an obese actor.
"The hope is we can change hearts and minds about how we relate to one another or don't relate to one another, how we may dismiss one another, by simply by virtue of how we appear to one another," Fraser said in an interview in December.
Reuters
Mon Mar 13 2023
Brendan Fraser wins the Oscar for Best Actor for "The Whale" during the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 12, 2023. - REUTERS
2 pegawai syarikat pembekalan air direman kes rasuah RM3.3 juta
Perintah reman dikeluarkan Penolong Kanan Pendaftar Puan Nurzihan Abdul Rehman di Mahkamah Majistret, di Johor Bahru, pagi Selasa.
LBS menamatkan kempennya dengan ganjaran RM1.5 juta buat 1,400 pembeli bertuah
LBS Bina Group Berhad (LBS) sebagai pemaju yang mengutamakan pelanggannya telah menamatkan kempen LBS Fabulous Extra yang berjalan sejak 2022 hingga 2023 dengan ganjaran bernilai RM1.5 juta.
Pesawah dituduh buat kenyataan menghasut di WhatsApp
Seorang pesawah mengaku tidak bersalah di Mahkamah Sesyen di sini terhadap tuduhan membuat kenyataan menghasut di menerusi aplikasi WhatsApp pada Selasa.
9 tentera terbunuh nahas helikopter di Colombia
Helikopter itu terputus hubungan dengan pangkalan pada tengah hari dan kemudian didapati terhempas berhampiran daerah Santa Rosa.
Venue Piala Thomas, Uber di Chengdu dilanda 'demam' panda
Yang paling mencuri perhatian ialah magnet peti sejuk yang menampilkan Yu Rong Rong bermain badminton.
Houthi Yaman serang dua kapal pemusnah AS
Houthi berjaya menyasarkan serangan terhadap dua kapal pemusnah AS dan kapal CYCLADES di Laut Merah serta MSC Orion di Lautan Hindi pada awal Selasa.
Ringgit rendah berbanding dolar AS pada awal dagangan
Pada 9 pagi, ringgit merosot kepada 4.7665/7710 berbanding mata wang Amerika Syarikat (AS) daripada 4.7650/7700 semalam.
Bakal jemaah haji OKU syukur dipilih jadi tetamu Allah
Abdul Samad MM Abdul Aziz, 53, yang merupakan Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) Penglihatan bersyukur dan teruja apabila dipilih seorang daripada 31,600 jemaah haji dari Malaysia tahun ini.
Pendakwa raya ICC temu bual kakitangan hospital di Gaza
Pendakwa raya dari Mahkamah Jenayah Antarabangsa (ICC) telah menemu bual kakitangan dari dua hospital terbesar di Gaza.
Israel bimbang ICC keluar waran tangkap berkait perang Gaza
Israel menyuarakan kebimbangan bahawa Mahkamah Jenayah Antarabangsa (ICC) bersiap sedia untuk mengeluarkan waran tangkap bagi pegawainya atas tuduhan berkaitan dengan pengendalian perang terhadap Hamas.