Brendan Fraser nominated for Best Actor Oscars 2023

The man, the myth, the legend. Everyone’s favourite 90s movie crush, Brendan Fraser, has just bagged a nomination for Best Actor in the 2023 Academy Awards, and no one can say that he’s not deserving of it.

Fraser has been nominated for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological drama The Whale, in which he plays Charlie - a 600-pound middle-aged man trying to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter Ellie (played by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink).

Take a look at the trailer for The Whale below.

Accolades for Fraser’s performance in The Whale are nothing new - he recently won Best Actor at the Critic’s Choice Awards, where he gave a very emotional acceptance speech, and shouted out Aronofsky for his work on the film. He previously received a TIFF Tribute Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, too, where he noted that he’s normally “the guy who hands these things out”.

“Apart from being a part of some impressive and talented ensemble casts, I think the last time that I waited to hear my name called aloud to receive an award was in grade four, and it was from the peewee bowling league,” he said when accepting the TIFF Tribute Award. “My mom said it was a major award.”

It sounds like Fraser could be adding to his award cabinet very soon, anyway - assuming he can beat the competition. Also nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards are Paul Mescal (Aftersun), Bill Nighy (Living), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), and Austin Butler (Elvis).

The 95th Academy Awards are set to take place on 12 March, so there’s a while to wait yet until we find out the results. That said, I hope you’re ready for a long night - these things do tend to go on for a while. It'll be worth it if we get to see Fraser get a big win, anyway.