It was announced today that the former Mummy actor, Brendan Fraser, would take home the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance. The TIFF Tribute Awards were first given in 2019, and are voted on by the TIFF board rather than the audience. The previous winners are listed below.

*Won the Oscar

2019:
*Joaquin Phoenix: Joker
Meryl Streep: The Laundromat

2020:
*Anthony Hopkins: The Father
Kate Winslet: Ammonite

2021:
Benedict Cumberbatch: The Power of the Dog
*Jessica Chastain: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Regarding the Oscars race right now, it is hard to deny Brendan Fraser’s rise to the top of the Best Actor charts. Over the previous 3 years of TIFF Tribute Awards, there has been at least one winner each year, and 4 of the 6 winners were nominated for the Oscar – Benedict Cumberbatch was the only nominee that didn’t win and Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet were not nominated for their TIFF winning performances. So, the chance that Fraser will at least receive a nomination at next year’s Academy Awards is looking more likely.

It also helps Fraser’s case given the fact that the other TIFF tribute winner for performance wasn’t one performance, but an entire ensemble. The ensemble for Amazon’s My Policeman received the other award which was given to Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, and Rupert Everett. Winning this award is a strong testament to the My Policeman crew, however, it doesn’t hold the same leverage that Fraser’s win does. Between the two, Fraser has a much better shot as he was the sole winner from his film, and My Policeman‘s distributor Amazon has proven itself to not be among the strongest when it comes to Oscar nominations.

The former action movie star’s career was on the decline until recently when Fraser’s undeniable charm and screen presence was refound in a staggering way. What is being dubbed the Fraser-assisance is strong as not only does Fraser have Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale releasing at TIFF this year, but he also has a role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Flower Moon has neither been confirmed nor denied for a 2022 release but whenever it is released, it is very likely to receive nominations across the board as most Scorsese films tend to do. Fraser being a part of the highly coveted cast for Flower Moon could mean that George of the Jungle could become George of Dolby Theater as Fraser revitalizes his career with more dramatic performances.

Where does Brendan Fraser fall in your Best Actor lineup? Here at Oscars Central, all 7 contributors have Fraser in their top 5 for Best Actor with 4 of those 7 having him as the early frontrunner in the category.