The Heartbreaking Reason Why Brendan Fraser Was ‘Blacklisted’ From Hollywood

Last weekend, Brendan Fraser could be seen welling up as he humbly accepted the Best Actor Award at the Oscars, something he never thought possible.

And the reason why is heartbreaking. 

Now, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the 2022 film nominees for the 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles… and what a night it was. 

However, the best-performing film had to be Everything Everywhere All at Once. It had the most 2023 Oscar nominations (eleven) going into the program, winning 7.

Not only did it win best picture, but it also won 3 acting awards for Michelle Yeoh as best leading actress, Ke Huy Quan as best supporting actor, and Jamie Lee Curtis as best supporting actress. 

The movie also took home awards for best original script, best director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), and best film editing (Paul Rogers). 

But arguably the most emotional part of the night was when The Whale won Brendan Fraser the award for best actor in a leading role.

And after everything he went through, it’s understandable why he was so emotional.

In 2018, Brendan Fraser made the shocking revelation that Philip Berk, past President of the HFPA, had s**ually assaulted him in 2003. A confession that he later claimed led him to be blacklisted by Hollywood. 

In an interview with GQ in 2018, Fraser bravely shared: “His left-hand reaches around, grabs my a** cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the t***t. And he starts moving it around. I felt ill.

“I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry… In my mind, at least, something had been taken away from me.”

In his 2014 biography, Berk—who is still a member of the HFPA—tried to downplay the incident as a joke. Later, he told GQ: “His career declined through no fault of ours.”

Fraser famously made a name for himself in the ‘90s, and has since made a gallant comeback to the screen over the last few years. His film career has undoubtedly been revitalised by recent appearances in the hit movies No Sudden Move (2021) and most recently, The Whale (2022).

The latter has been a huge success, and as a result, he accepted the Best Actor in a leading role award on Sunday. 

Taking to the stage to accept his win, Fraser said: “So this is what the multiverse looks like!

“I thank the academy for this honour… Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship The Whale.”

He continued: “I want to tell you that only whales can swim at the depths of the talent of Hong Chau.

“I started in this business thirty years ago…there was a facility that that I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped.”

He added: “I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgement because it could not be done without my cast.”


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