Brendan Fraser sends a tearful, powerful message in Critics’ Choice Awards speech

Brendan Fraser got emotional as he delivered a heartfelt message during an acceptance speech at the Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday (You can watch an excerpt from Fraser’s speech below).

“The Whale” actor, who won Best Actor at the ceremony, reflected on his recent film about “love”, “redemption” and “finding the light in a dark place” while recognizing those who made the film made possible.

Fraser opened his speech by referring to a Herman Melville line about critics in America, noting that he is glad that critics have “woken up” to him.

The actor also emotionally thanked Darren Aronofsky, director of “The Whale,” for showing him where he “needed to be” on Sunday.

“I was in the wilderness and I probably should have left a trail of bread crumbs, but you found me,” Fraser said.

“And like all the best directors, you just showed me where to go to get to where I needed to be.”

Fraser later spoke of music trying to play him off and he didn’t let his powerful speech at the awards ceremony stop.

“If – like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this movie – you struggle in any way with obesity or you feel like you’re in a dark sea. I want you to know that if you too can have the strength to just stand up and go to the light, good things will happen,” Fraser said.

Fraser later told reporters that the Best Actor award was “more than [he knows] how to say with words.”

“It was an act of faith,” said Fraser when making “The Whale.”

“We all approached this piece as if it were the first and last time we’d ever get the chance to do this kind of work, day after day, and I think this movie can do a lot of good.”