A prediction for the Oscars for Best Actor: Brendan Fraser turns into a fat man in "The Whale."

The Oscars ceremony is coming soon, and various awards predictions and nominations are exciting. In addition to Michelle Yeoh, a Chinese actress who has attracted much attention, the competition for the best actor is also worth watching. The most popular candidate is Brendan Fraser, the prince charming in my mind.

He once became famous because of "The Mummy," I don't know when he gradually disappeared from public view. Not only was he out of shape, but his popularity declined, and he didn't even have a movie to act in.

Over the years, Brendan Fraser is back with a brand-new role, which makes him a popular candidate for this year's Oscars for best actor. Today, I want to write about the former prince charming and his new film, "The Whale."

01

Brendan Fraser used to be a synonym for tall and handsome. With a height of 1.92 meters and deep charming blue eyes, it's hard not to be fascinated. He is the star player in "School Ties."

He is the sexy and fit jungle king in "George of the Jungle."

He is a strong veteran in "Gods and Monsters."

He is the intrepid adventurer in "The Mummy" series.

With these roles, Brendan Fraser became one of the hottest A-list actors in Hollywood, especially the popularity of "The Mummy," which made him one of the highest-earning actors in the world. In his prime, his salary was as high as $20 million.

However, Fraser has been inactive since 2010. Unexpectedly, this time, he appeared in front of the public with such a shocking image, with thinning hair and nearly 300 kilograms in weight.

In the film, Brendan Fraser plays Charlie, an English teacher who teaches writing through online classes, but because he is obese, he does not turn on the camera every time he teaches online to avoid being seen by his students.

Life is inconvenient for a big fat man like him, and every simple movement is a great challenge.

His state of health is also dangerous, with heart failure and hypertension, which could have killed him at any time. But even so, Charlie can't control his appetite. He's like a whale, opening his mouth and swallowing all the high-calorie foods.

He wants to kill himself with food, but the former Charlie is not like this. He once was a teacher at a night school and had a warm family. However, he fell in love with one of his male students.

For love, he abandoned his wife and eight-year-old daughter. Unfortunately, Charlie did not get a happy ending in the end. The relationship ended with the student's suicide. The death of his lover and the guilt for his family made him give up his life.

No one can wake up his dead heart. He is like a piece of fat about to rot, collapsing in the dark corner and waiting for the arrival of death.

02

This time, Brendan Fraser challenged not only the role image but let the audience also know him again in acting. All the time, Fraser's acting skills have not been the focus of people's attention. His appearance is the main reason to be loved by the audience.

Most of Fraser's movies are fantasy and adventure. These commercial blockbusters, which sell visual wonders, do not need much acting, so his acting skills cannot be seen. Perhaps he realized this, and to broaden his career, he began to try different types of films.

He once starred opposite Ian McKellen in "Gods and Monsters," a homosexual theme film that many actors were afraid to act in at that time, and his acting skills in it were recognized by many audiences.

He went on to star in "The Quiet American" and "Crash," both about racial issues. These works did show Fraser's talent in acting, but he still did not break the limits of his appearance.

But this time, "The Whale" changed the situation completely. The role of Charlie is more complicated than any role Fraser has ever played. In the eyes of outsiders, he is a rotten person, but there is a detail, Charlie has been feeding the wild birds outside. He is desperate for life but still full of hope when treating life.

Charlie has always felt sorry for his daughter. Because of being abandoned, her character is very gloomy. She not only has no friends but likes to make trouble at school. She posts terrible words and pictures on social platforms. Charlie's ex-wife even thinks that she is evil.

But Charlie doesn't think so. In his heart, his daughter is clever and kind. He doesn't want to ruin her life because of his mistake. He doesn't want to give up hope and wants to ensure he has done at least one thing right in his life. This scene shocked me!

On the one hand, pain and guilt occupy Charlie's heart, and he can only atone through death. On the other hand, he hopes to be redeemed by reconciliation with his daughter. This complex emotional expression is a big challenge for actors, and the closed performance environment increases the difficulty. Fraser delivered a satisfactory answer, which captured my heart and moved me deeply.

03

In the film, there is a scene that impressed me deeply. At night, Charlie is ready to go to sleep while reciting the composition written by his daughter when she was eight. He undresses with difficulty and walks to the bedroom step by step on crutches. His fat is shaking all the way.

Back in the bedroom, he collapses on the bed with all his strength, his fat flowing down like melted butter, and the scene is shocking and uncomfortable. If you think about Brendan Fraser's previous image, it is a disfiguring performance.

Although many actors in Hollywood have had such performances before, such as Charlize Theron's image in "Monster."

And Colin Farrell, competing with Fraser for best actor this year. Who can connect the ugly Penguin in "The Batman" with his charming image?

However, for Fraser, this may be the last fight of his acting career, and his life experience is full of ups and downs. "The Mummy" series brought him too much pain. For example, in the first film, when shooting the execution scene, Fraser went into shock because of an accident.

In the second film, he suffered three broken ribs and a torn disc in his lumbar spine.

In the third film, he had to wrap himself in bandages and ice cubes every day to continue filming.

Since then, Fraser has undergone seven operations, including on his back, lumbar spine, knee, and vocal cords, which means he can only bid farewell to action movies. His personal life was also full of misfortune, divorcing his ex-wife, fighting for the custody of his children, his son's autistic tendencies, and his mother's death from cancer, which once made him exhausted for a while.

Fraser also suffered mental distress because of an industry authority's sexual harassment. In the end, he not only didn't get an apology but was also suspected of being blacklisted by the Golden Globe Awards, and his life fell to the bottom.

Therefore, "The Whale" is too precious for him, and he has made a lot of effort for it, such as gaining weight, spending five to six hours a day on makeup, and seriously understanding the character's feelings.

Like Charlie waiting for redemption in the story, Fraser, who loves acting, also is living toward death. Perhaps not everyone dares to start all over again. In the film, fortunately, Charlie finally reconciles with his daughter and achieves spiritual salvation. And outside the film, Fraser's efforts paid off. At Venice Film Festival, after the screening of "The Whale," there was a six-minute applause, all for Brendan Fraser.

Fraser won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor for the film and choked up at the award ceremony. I hope he can win something at this year's Oscars.

Okay! What do you think of Fraser's performance in "The Whale?" See you in the comments!