Is Brendan Fraser about to land his first Oscar?

Virgin Radio

23 Aug 2022, 11:42

The Brendan Fraser renaissance is well and truly underway!

We’re a few months away from finding out who is nominated for an Academy Award, but if this latest prize handed to the Mummy star is any indication, things are looking pretty bright for Brendan. 

The beloved actor will pick up the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival TIFF Tribute Award for his role in highly-anticipated drama The Whale.

Brendan stars in the Darren Aronofsky drama as a 600lb man called Charlie, who is trying his best to reconnect with his teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) after leaving his family for his male lover. 

When Charlie’s new partner later dies, it sparks his unhealthy binge-eating habits, which, coupled with reclusive tendencies, causes him to gain weight to extreme levels. 

The Whale will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month, and Brendan was given the high honour of the Tribute Award, which has a pattern of naming Oscar winners before they land that famous statue. 

In 2021, Benedict Cumberbatch received the same TIFF prize, and went on to be nominated in the Best Actor category at the Academy Awards, while Tribute Award winner Jessica Chastain went on to win her Oscar category. 

Joaquin Phoenix won his TIFF and Oscar gongs for Joker in 2020, while the same happened to Anthony Hopkins for The Father. 

Brendan’s success comes during a busy time in his career, having signed up for four new projects over the next year. 

The celebrated actor made his mark in Hollywood with a number of classic movies in the 90s and early 2000’s, including The Mummy Trilogy, George of the Jungle and Encino Man, but had stepped away from the limelight for a number of years. 

His return to the acting scene has been warmly welcomed by his loyal fans, who have dubbed his comeback as the 'Brenaissance'.

While we’re all excited to see The Whale, one Brendan Fraser project that will unfortunately not see the light of day is Batgirl, which was cancelled earlier this month. 

Brendan was due to star as villain Firefly, and had been spotted filming the DC Comics movie, but Warner Bros. had decided not to push forward with its release. 

All that said, The Whale is expected to be released in September.