The 6th Annual Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Film Awards were held on Friday February 24th at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
All HCA members voted across 19 different categories celebrating the best films of 2022.
Among the winners at the ceremony: Brendan Fraser, who took home the Best Actor trophy for his celebrated performance as the reclusive and morbidly obese English teacher in Darren Aronofsky’s psychodrama The Whale.
It is widely considered the Indianapolis, Indiana native’s “comeback film” after he has worked on just three films since 2014.
At Friday’s ceremony, Fraser beat out some formidable competitors including Austin Butler (Elvis), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick).
He then posed proudly for photographers, trophy in hand, decked out in a black suit.
Fraser was also joined for a few photos with former colleague Christa Miller.
Scrubs fans may recall that Fraser made a memorable guest appearance on the hit medical sitcom, playing Ben Sullivan, a leukemia patient and brother to Jordan (Christa Miller) and Danni (Tara Reid).
At one point during their time together in the spotlight, Miller, 58, snuggled up next to her old friend and looked elegant in a black dress and her flowing dark brown locks.
Following his success at the Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards, Fraser has now won two trophies for Best Actor at major awards shows.
For his riveting performance as Charlie, a recluse who has weighed over 600 pounds over the years, Fraser previously won Best Actor at the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards in January.
He also received nominations for Best Actor at the 80th Golden Globe Awards and Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, both of which went to Austin Butler for his role in the Elvis biopic.
Fraser also has a pending nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards being held on February 26 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, California.
The former Mummy star was also nominated for Best Actor at the 95th Academy Awards, taking place on March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
For the role of Charlie, Fraser spent four hours a day fitting out prosthetic limbs that weighed up to 300 pounds. He also consulted with the Obesity Action Coalition and worked with a dance instructor for months before filming began to determine how his obese character would move
Early on, when The Whale made its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival last September, Fraser was brought to tears of joy when he received a six-minute standing ovation.
It had a limited theatrical release in the US on December 9, 2022 before being widely released on December 21, just in time to be considered for many of the various awards shows.
So far, as of February 24, The Whale has grossed $28.4 million on a budget of just $3 million, but that’s likely to increase as it gets more recognition from the various awards shows to come.
In addition to the main actor, the cast also features Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton.
Some of the other HCR winners were Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once) for Best Actress; Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere at Once) for Best Supporting Actor; and Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) for Best Supporting Actress
Best Picture went to Everything Everywhere All At Once; Sarah Polley (Women Talking) received Best Adapted Screenplay; and Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once) won both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay awards.
