Brendan Fraser to receive TIFF Tribute Award for The Whale

Watch The Whale on OTTplay

Brendan Fraser will be honoured with the Tribute Award for Performance at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival.

The actor will receive the award during the festival's gala fundraiser, which is set to be held on September 11, the organisers said in a statement posted on the official website.

The honour recognises the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements, recognizing leading industry members, acting talent, directorial expertise, new talent, and below-the-line artists and creators.

Fraser's upcoming movie, The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky, will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“Brendan Fraser performs staggering depth, power, and nuance in The Whale. This former Torontonian has been an action star, a screen comic, and a romantic lead. We’re thrilled to welcome him home as the actor behind one of the finest performances of the year," TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said.

Other recipients of this year's TIFF Tribute Awards include the entire cast of My Policeman, which includes Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Rupert Everett, Linus Roache, and David Dawson.

Filmmaker Sam Mendes has been named the recipient of the Director Award for his upcoming film Empire of Light.

During an interview with Unilad last year, Fraser described the film as “something you haven’t seen before.”

Fans are excited to see Fraser, who is known for leading The Mummy franchise and starring in other films such as Crash and George of the Jungle, return to the big screen.

Fraser was last seen in No Sudden Move, the crime thriller that Steven Soderbergh directed for HBO Max, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

He’s previously appeared in series including Condor, Trust, The Affair and Texas Rising. On the film side, he’s best known for turns in Crash and three films in Universal’s The Mummy franchise, the last of which was 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.