Brendan Fraser makes heartbreaking admission as he tearfully accepts award for The Whale

Brendan Fraser gave an emotional speech as he accepted his TIFF Tribute Award for his performance in The Whale.

On Sunday night, the actor, who is best known for his role in The Mummy franchise, also received a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival. Watch a clip from his speech here:

The Whale's director Darren Aronofsky presented the 53-year-old with his award, and referred to him as 'The man and the actor'.

Fraser began his speech by joking that this experience was 'new to him', as he was usually 'the guy at the podium who hands these out.'

However, the actor then got emotional, saying: “Art is about taking a risk, and you should know that [Aronofsky and screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter] took a chance on me, and I will be forever grateful to them. The Whale’is a redemption story.”

Fraser also spoke of his appreciation for people's reactions to the film: “I want you to know how deeply I appreciate this affirmation.

“It’s the audience that gives cinema life, so I must thank you for keeping me in the job that I love because it’s nice to work if you can get it.”

His speech was then followed by 3-minute round of applause. Fraser had also received a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival last week (5 September), with viewers moved by his performance.

Brendan Fraser gave an emotional speech when accepting his TIFF Tribute Award for The Whale. Credit.: Tommaso Boddi/Getty

The Whale will be released later this year, and many are tipping Fraser to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

The film follows the life of a 600-pound man, Charlie, who must face his demons and the regrets he holds over his physique. Fraser’s character is an obese gay man who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter, played by Sadie Sink of Stranger Things. 

“I heard Darren was going to be directing a movie,” said Fraser, “We talked about the project. There was no script at the time.

 “He told me it was about a man with a burden of regret, and he’s been harming himself by overeating. And he wants to reconnect with his daughter and let her know how much he loves her. He’s running out of time.” 

The event was also the first time that Harry Styles had been publicly seen since his ‘spit-gate’ situation with his Don't Worry Darling co-star, Chris Pine. Styles was the awards promoting his new film, My Policemen.