Brendan Fraser wins best actor Oscar for The Whale - The Guardian

Brendan Fraser has won the best actor Oscar for The Whale at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Fraser stars as a morbidly obese teacher in the film, which was directed by Darren Aronofsky and adapted by Samuel D Hunter from his own play.

Fraser defeated a field of contenders including Elvis’s Austin Butler and The Banshees of Inisherin’s Colin Farrell.

Fraser chose not to attend the latter, after alleging in 2018 that the Golden Globes former president Philip Berk sexually assaulted him in 2003.

He paid tribute to the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, and writer Samuel Hunter, saying: “You laid your whale-sized hearts bare so we could see into your souls.”

He finished by thanking his three sons and his “first mate”, partner Jeanne Moore.