Brendan Fraser is having a moment right now. After his acclaimed performance in “The Whale,” he’s gone on to earn a ton of awards recognition, including the recently announced Oscars nom for Best Actor. However, one of the awards he was nominated for, a Golden Globe, did not excite him. In fact, he didn’t think the results of that nomination mattered at all.
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Speaking on the Howard Stern Show (via EW), Brendan Fraser talked about his years-long drama with the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. For those who don’t know, back in 2018, Fraser alleged that Philip Berk, former president and member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, touched him inappropriately back in 2003 at an event. This was just one of several stories that haunted the HFPA and forced some reorganization in recent years. However, that didn’t stop the HFPA from nominating Fraser for Best Actor in a Drama for his role in “The Whale.”
“I found myself wondering is this a cynical nomination,” explained Fraser. “I couldn’t really tell because of my history with them and that I still have yet to see the results from their reformation. We all are still awaiting that, to tell you the truth.”
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Ultimately, Fraser didn’t go to the awards ceremony and made a public statement about it. And the award would eventually go to Austin Bulter for his role in “Elvis.” But Fraser admits that it didn’t matter if he won or lost, the award is meaningless to him.
“Get it or don’t get it, doesn’t matter. What does matter is that it would mean nothing to me. I don’t want it,” he said. “I didn’t ask to be considered even, that was presumed. I know that would displease many people for lots of reasons. They needed me, I didn’t need them. Because it wouldn’t be meaningful to me. Where am I gonna put that hood ornament? What would I do with that?”
Through it all, Fraser claims that he isn’t looking for people to stand by him and boycott the Golden Globes or the HFPA. He said, “It’s my fight, no one else’s.” As for where the drama currently stands, Fraser explained that the HFPA wanted the actor to co-sign a statement that claimed the unwanted touching was meant to be a joke and not a sexual advance. Fraser didn’t agree to that resolution.
“It would be meaningful — if they wanted to make amends — to issue an apology that made sense … that they share the investigation that they did into me and my family and my friends,” Fraser explained. “I never saw the result of that report. They wouldn’t give it to me, they said no it’s ours. So whatever’s in it they don’t want me to read it. Instead, I was given a press release that said it was a joke.”
Regardless of his status with the HFPA and the results of this year’s Golden Globes, Brendan Fraser is riding a wave of success that he hasn’t experienced in decades. We’ll just have to wait and see if this ride gets capped off with an Oscars statue.
You can see him talk about his Oscars chances with Stern below: