Brendan Fraser gets TIFF award for 'The Whale'; teary-eyed actor says 'this is new for me'

Hollywood star Brendan Fraser's has been getting love and appreciation for his comeback in films with The Whale. After receiving a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, the actor was honoured at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival. 

Post receiving a six-minute long standing occasion at the Venice Film Festival, the actor has now bagged a TIFF Tribute Award. Brendan, who has been in the film industry for almost three decades, is full of gratitude and even got emotional while delivering his speech at the award show. 

Brendan Fraser receives honour at Toronto International Film Festival

Fraser who has essayed the role of Charlie -- a man, living with severe obesity, and struggling to connect with his daughter -- got teary-eyed while delivering his acceptance speech. Entertainment Weekly quoted him saying, "This is new for me. I am normally the guy at the podium who hands these things out—I got pretty good at it. Apart from being a part of this impressive ensemble cast, the last time I waited to hear my name to be called out to receive an award was in Grade 4, and it was the Pee Whee bowling league—it gets better, it was a little cup and it had the words ‘high game handicap’ and to this day I don’t know what that means. But mom said it was a great award!”

The 53-year-old star was honoured for his outstanding performance as a father in Darren Aronofsky's directorial, The Whale. The film also received love at the VFF where the crowd stood for approximately five minutes till the festival organisers quietened the applause and started the Q&A session with Brendan Fraser, director, and other cast members. 

While sharing his views on the film and describing his experience of being a part of the same, Brendan, as quoted by Variety, said then, “You need to be an incredibly strong individual to be that man. Because at the end of the day, I could take the apparatus off and, while I felt dizzy, something about that stayed with me… I learned that when you just invest everything you can and give it what you’ve got as if it’s the first and last time you ever will, something important can come of that. And I think that with your help we might be able to change some hearts and minds.” The film is set to release on December 9, 2022, in the US.

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