Brendan Fraser nominated for first ever Oscar and couldn't deserve it more

Brendan Fraser has been nominated for his first ever Oscar, an accolade we can all agree he deserves.

The 54-year-old actor has been heaped with praise by audiences and critics alike for his role in The Whale, which dropped in US cinemas last month.

Darren Aronofsky's psychological drama sees Fraser transformed into a 600lb recluse called Charlie who tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter.

Charlie's weight gain is a result of a spiral of guilt-induced binge eating after having left his family for a gay lover who later died.

While Fraser's transformation was no mean feat, involving a highly elaborate and detailed prosthetic suit, it's his heartfelt performance and compassion that's left viewers describing it as his best role yet.

So it'll come as no surprise he's been nominated for the Best Actor award at the 2023 Oscars.

Some fans have been left wondering whether he'll be attending this year's Academy Awards ceremony.

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But unlike the Golden Globes, where he also received a nomination for best actor in the drama category, you most likely will be seeing him on the red carpet.

Fraser boycotted the latest Golden Globes, with his reason stemming back to a 2018 profile with GQ magazine, in which The Mummy star said the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) president Philip Berk groped him in 2003.

The organisation launched an internal investigation and according to Fraser, tried to explain Berk's alleged actions were intended as 'a joke'.

HFPA released a statement which read: "The HFPA stands firmly against sexual harassment and the type of behaviour described in this article.

"Over the years we've continued a positive working relationship with Brendan, which includes announcing Golden Globe nominees, attending the ceremony and participating in press conferences.

"This report includes alleged information that the HFPA was previously unaware of and at this time we are investigating further details surrounding the incident."

In a later interview with GQ, Fraser explained how this meant he wouldn’t attend a future Golden Globes ceremony.

“I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,” he said.

“No, I will not participate.”

Fraser added: "It’s because of the history that I have with them. And my mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that."

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After feeling as though the Golden Globes ultimately acted as if he had never spoken out at all, he speculated that the matter may have been ‘too prickly or sharp-edged or icky’ for people to want to ‘invest emotionally’ into.

When asked if he believed in any of the HFPA’s announced reforms, he replied: “At the moment, no. Maybe time will tell if they’re going to... I don’t know what they’re going to do. I don’t know."

But there's no bad blood between the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the star, meaning he'll most likely be heading to the ceremony where he's in the running to bag his first ever Oscar.