SAG Awards 2023: Brendan Fraser wins best actor for ‘The Whale’

Brendan Fraser accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for “The Whale” during the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| Photo Credit: MARIO ANZUONI

The 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held on Sunday night at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles and it was an evening to remember for Hollywood star Brendan Fraser as he bagged the SAG Award in the Best Actor Male category for his performance in The Whale.

Fraser previously bagged the Best Actor award at the 28th Critics Choice Award for his performance in the Darren Arnofsky-directed film.

“I treasure this, but never more than when I treasured what I used to keep in my wallet, which was my SAG card that I earned in 1991. It made me feel like I belonged. As actors, we all want to belong to a tribe and that’s when I found where I belong. And if you told that guy back then that I’d be standing right here right now, I would not have believed you,” he said in his acceptance speech, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

“I wouldn’t believe that I had a chance to work with world-class filmmakers like Darren Aronofsky (the film’s director) and speak the words of empathy fountain that is Samuel D. Hunter (the film’s writer) and incredible castmates. … I never believed that I would have been offered the role of my life in this character — Charlie in The Whale,” he added.

Fraser’s commitment to The Whale, in which he played an approx 250 kgs man who reckons with the limits of his reclusive life over a period of five days, has earned him multiple award nods, including a Golden Globe nomination.

Fraser competed against Austin Butler for Elvis, Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin, Bill Nighy for Living, and Adam Sandler for Hustle under the category. The annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are held to honour the year’s best acting performances.