Brendan Fraser wins Best Actor at the 2023 Oscars for The Whale

Brendan Fraser has won Best Actor at the 2023 Academy Awards for his role in The Whale.

He beat fellow nominees Austin Butler (Elvis), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Bill Nighy (Living) and Paul Mescal (Aftersun) to the award.

Accepting the award, a visibly emotional Fraser said: “So this is what the multiverse looks like. I thank the Academy for this honour, and to our studio A24 for making such a bold film.”

“Gentlemen, you laid your whale-sized hearts bare so we could see into your souls, and it is my honour to be nominated alongside you in this category.”

You can keep up to date with the latest Oscar developments in our dedicated liveblog.

Ahead of the ceremony, Fraser had been the bookmakers’ favourite, for his role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, playing an obese man struggling with grief. Butler was also tipped to be a strong contender, having played Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic opposite Tom Hanks.

Farrell was also given an outside chance, for his role as a man whose life is upended when his friend (Brendan Gleeson) starts ignoring him in Irish black comedy The Banshees of Inisherin.

The Oscars took place on Sunday night (12 March) at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

As the night began, multiverse comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once was expected to take home many of the biggest awards, including Best Picture.

Also in competition are The Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Triangle of Sadness, Women Talking, All Quiet on the Western Front, Elvis and Tar.

For a breakdown of which films and nominees are likely to emerge from the night victorious, click here.

Here is a full list of the nominees.