"I got really quiet": Brendan Fraser reveals his initial reaction to being nominated for Oscar

Actor Brendan Fraser recently appeared on TODAY, where he spoke about his movie, The Whale, and getting nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the film. He spoke about his initial reaction to being nominated.

Fraser said:

"It was my category, and they said my name and I got really quiet and everyone else shouted."

The actor spoke about a special gift that his kids gave him after he got nominated for an Oscar. In The Whale, Brendan Fraser plays the lead role of a man suffering from obesity. The movie was released in theaters on December 9, 2022, and received highly positive reviews from viewers and critics.

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The Whale star Brendan Fraser opens up on getting nominated for an Academy Award, and more

Brendan Fraser mentioned during his interview on TODAY that after he got nominated for the Oscar for The Whale, his kids gifted him a special cake.

He said that his kids came to him with a Fudji the Whale cake, and added:

It was the first time I'd ever seen it. I just went, 'Hey, where do you guys get a cake that's shaped like a whale?' It looked to me kind of like (shows how it looks)."

Fraser also spoke at length about his character in the film and what drew him to it. He noted:

"I knew that this was the story of a man who'd been living alone. He'd been harming himself by overeating. And he has very little time left, and to save his - his very soul - his quest is to redeem himself in the eyes of his daughter from whom he's estranged. This is not a film about obesity. This is a film about a man who must reconnect with his daughter. Full stop."

Brendan Fraser has received high praise from various critics and fans for his performance in the film, with many considering it to be one of the finest performances of the year. The film was also a commercial success.

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Fraser's film The Whale also has Sadie Sink and Hong Chau, among other actors

The Whale centers on a middle-aged man suffering from obesity. He's known for his self-destructive nature and looks to redeem himself by trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter before his death.

Here's the film's official synopsis, as per A24:

"From Darren Aronofsky comes The Whale, the story of a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter."

Brendan Fraser perfectly captures his character's numerous conflicts, flaws, and vulnerabilities. He manages to do so with astonishing perfection and without going over the top in an extremely nuanced and sensitive manner that could well be regarded as the finest of his career. Fraser's performance is central to the narrative and it further elevates the film to new heights.

The film also stars multiple other stars, like Sadie Sink as Ellie, Hong Chau as Liz, Ty Simpkins as Thomas, and Samantha Morton as Mary, among others.

Apart from The Whale, Fraser has starred in a wide variety of films and TV shows over the years. These include the Mummy franchise, Crash, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Doom Patrol, to name a few.