Brendan Fraser became emotional at the SAG awards as he scooped the award for Outstanding Performance by a male actor for his role in The Whale.
The film by director Darren Aronofsky sees Fraser as a morbidly obese man, Charlie, who is desperate to redeem himself in the eyes of his daughter.
Honoured for his role in the flick at last night's (February 26) event, the actor teared up as he delivered his acceptance speech.
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Describing the story as ‘the role of his life’, 54-year-old Fraser spoke about his struggles in the industry, urging other actors to ‘stay in there’ and just ‘keep putting one foot in front of the other’.
He became emotional almost immediately, saying he would have never believed he would have been offered the life changing role when he started his career in 1999.
The actor previously claimed to have been previously blacklisted by Hollywood, after alleging he was sexual assaulted by then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Philip Berk.
Continuing his speech, he said: "If you told that guy back then I'd be standing here right now I wouldn't have believed you, I wouldn't have believed I'd work with a world-class filmmaker like Darren Aronofsky, and say those incredible words to my incredible cast mates, and I never would have believed I'd have been offered the role of my life.”
He added how he’d treasured his SAG card as it made him feel like he ‘belonged’ and tearfully said he felt similar to his character, Charlie.
“The character Charlie is someone on a raft of regrets in a sea of hope and I've been at that sea and rode that wave and it's been powerful and good but I've also had that wave smash me down the ocean floor and drag my face along and end up on a strange beach wondering 'Where I am now?',” he admitted to audience.
Fraser beat out other nominees including Bill Nighy for Living, Austin Butler for Elvis and The Banshees of Inisherin star Colin Farrell.
Meanwhile, Michelle Yeoh took home the SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once and said her mother would be ‘eternally grateful’.
She added: "I think if I speak my heart will explode.”
Topics: Brendan Fraser, Celebrity, TV and Film
Katherine Sidnell