Brendan Fraser‘s career comeback reached its apex Sunday evening when he reached for his Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Darren Aronofsky‘s drama The Whale.

Backstage, an emotional Fraser explained the parallels he saw between his character’s struggles in life and his own.

His character, Charlie, is a morbidly obese man trying to make amends with his daughter. Although Fraser was asked about queer representation, he explained, “Charlie is more than just a gay man: He’s a father, he’s an educator, he’s a truth-seeker.”

With tears in his eyes, Fraser expressed, “That he fell hopelessly, inconveniently in love with whomever is immaterial. He’s someone who found love, lost it, and then found it again. I think that that’s something that we can all take a page from.”

The actor continued, “And know that with perseverance, if you put one foot in front of the other, like Charlie did — go to the light — believe me, if I can do it, you can, too.”

With a laugh, and Oscar in hand, he added, “Good things will happen.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.