Brendan Fraser tearfully addresses Hollywood comeback as he wins at Critics Choice Awards

Brendan Fraser gave the most emotional speech of the night at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards as he accepted the Best Actor award for his performance in The Whale. After bursting into tears when his win was announced, Fraser tearfully addressed his acting comeback as he thanked the movie’s director.

"Darren Aronofsky, I was in the wilderness, and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs, but you’ve found me – and like all the best directors, you merely just showed me where to go to get to where I needed to be," he said, before sharing a powerful message. "If you, like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this movie, in any way, struggle with obesity, or you just feel like you’re in a dark sea. I want you to know that if you too, can have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light. Good things will happen."

Fraser also praised his co-stars Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, and Ty Simpkins, as well as playwright Sam Hunter, in his heartfelt speech. "This movie, The Whale, it’s about love, it’s about redemption," he added. "It’s about finding the light in a dark place and I’m so lucky to have worked with an ensemble that is incredible."

Elsewhere, the big winner at the awards was Everything Everywhere All at Once, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Editing. Cate Blanchett won best actress for Tár, while Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery took Best Comedy and Best Ensemble.

On the TV side, Better Call Saul won Best Drama, with Bob Odenkirk winning Best Actor. Abbott Elementary won two awards, including Best Comedy. Check out the full list of winners below.

Critics Choice Awards Winners

Best Picture

• WINNER: Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Avatar: The Way of Water
• Babylon
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• Elvis
• The Fabelmans
• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
• RRR
• Tár
• Top Gun: Maverick
• Women Talking

 Best Actor

• WINNER: Brendan Fraser, The Whale
• Austin Butler, Elvis
• Tom Cruise, Top Gun: Maverick
• Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
• Paul Mescal, Aftersun
• Bill Nighy, Living

Best Actress

• WINNER: Cate Blanchett (Tár)
• Viola Davis, The Woman King
• Danielle Deadwyler, Till
• Margot Robbie, Babylon
• Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
• Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actor

• WINNER: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Paul Dano, The Fabelmans
• Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
• Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
• Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
• Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway

Best Supporting Actress

• WINNER: Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Jessie Buckley, Women Talking
• Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
• Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Janelle Monáe, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

 Best Young Actor/Actress

• WINNER: Gabriel LaBelle, The Fabelmans
• Frankie Corio, Aftersun
• Jalyn Hall, Till
• Bella Ramsey, Catherine Called Birdy
• Banks Repeta, Armageddon Time
• Sadie Sink, The Whale

Best Acting Ensemble

• WINNER: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• The Fabelmans
• The Woman King
• Women Talking

Best Director

• WINNER: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water
• Damien Chazelle, Babylon
• Todd Field, Tár
• Baz Luhrmann, Elvis
• Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
• Sarah Polley, Women Talking
• Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King
• S. S. Rajamouli, RRR
• Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

 Best Original Screenplay

• WINNER: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Todd Field, Tár
• Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
• Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans
• Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

Best Adapted Screenplay

• WINNER: Sarah Polley, Women Talking
• Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale
• Kazuo Ishiguro, Living
• Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
• Rebecca Lenkiewicz, She Said

Best Cinematography

• WINNER: Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick
• Russell Carpenter, Avatar: The Way of Water
• Roger Deakins, Empire of Light
• Florian Hoffmeister, Tár
• Janusz Kaminski, The Fabelmans
• Linus Sandgren, Babylon

Best Production Design

• WINNER: Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino, Babylon
• Hannah Beachler, Lisa K. Sessions, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Rick Carter, Karen O'Hara, The Fabelmans
• Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, Vanessa Cole, Avatar: The Way of Water
• Jason Kisvarday, Kelsi Ephraim, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn, Elvis

 Best Editing

• WINNER: Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Tom Cross, Babylon
• Eddie Hamilton, Top Gun: Maverick
• Stephen Rivkin, David Brenner, John Refoua, James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water
• Matt Villa, Jonathan Redmond, Elvis
• Monika Willi, Tár

Best Costume Design

• WINNER: Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Jenny Eagan, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
• Shirley Kurata, Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Catherine Martin, Elvis
• Gersha Phillips, The Woman King
• Mary Zophres, Babylon

Best Hair and Makeup

• WINNER: Elvis
• Babylon
• The Batman
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• The Whale

Best Visual Effects

• WINNER: Avatar: The Way of Water
• The Batman
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• RRR
• Top Gun: Maverick

Best Comedy

• WINNER: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• Bros
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Triangle of Sadness
• The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Best Animated Film

• WINNER: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
• Turning Red
• Wendell & Wild

Best Foreign Language Film

• WINNER: RRR
• All Quiet on the Western Front
• Argentina, 1985
• Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
• Close
• Decision to Leave

Best Song

• WINNER: 'Naatu Naatu,' RRR
• 'Carolina,' Where the Crawdads Sing
• 'Ciao Papa,' Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
• 'Hold My Hand,' Top Gun: Maverick
• 'Lift Me Up,' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• 'New Body Rhumba,' White Noise

 Best Score

• WINNER: Hildur Guðnadóttir, Tár
• Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
• Michael Giacchino, The Batman
• Hildur Guðnadóttir, Women Talking
• Justin Hurwitz, Babylon
• John Williams, The Fabelmans

Best Drama Series

• WINNER: Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Andor (Disney+)
• Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
• The Crown (Netflix)
• Euphoria (HBO)
• The Good Fight (Paramount+)
• House of the Dragon (HBO)
• Severance (Apple TV+)
• Yellowstone (Paramount Network)

Best Actor in a Drama Series 

• WINNER: Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Jeff Bridges – The Old Man (FX)
• Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
• Diego Luna – Andor (Disney+)
• Adam Scott – Severance (Apple TV+)
• Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video)

Best Actress In A Drama Series

• WINNER: Zendaya – Euphoria (HBO)
• Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
• Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
• Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix)
• Mandy Moore – This Is Us (NBC)
• Kelly Reilly – Yellowstone (Paramount Network)

Best Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

• WINNER: Giancarlo Esposito – Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Andre Braugher – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
• Ismael Cruz Córdova – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video)
• Michael Emerson – Evil (Paramount+)
• John Lithgow – The Old Man (FX)
• Matt Smith – House of the Dragon (HBO)

 Best Supporting Actress In A Drama Series 

• WINNER: Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus (HBO)
• Milly Alcock – House of the Dragon (HBO)
• Carol Burnett – Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Julia Garner – Ozark (Netflix)
• Audra McDonald – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
• Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul (AMC)

Best Comedy Series

• WINNER: Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Barry (HBO)
• The Bear (FX)
• Better Things (FX)
• Ghosts (CBS)
• Hacks (HBO Max)
• Reboot (Hulu)
• Reservation Dogs (FX)

Best Actor In A Comedy Series 

• WINNER: Jeremy Allen White – The Bear (FX)
• Matt Berry – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
• Bill Hader – Barry (HBO)
• Keegan-Michael Key – Reboot (Hulu)
• Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
• D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – Reservation Dogs (FX)

Best Actress In A Comedy Series

• WINNER: Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)
• Christina Applegate – Dead to Me (Netflix)
• Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
• Renée Elise Goldsberry – Girls5eva (Peacock)
• Devery Jacobs – Reservation Dogs (FX)

Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

• WINNER: Henry Winkler – Barry (HBO)
• Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)
• Leslie Jordan – Call Me Kat (Fox)
• James Marsden – Dead to Me (Netflix)
• Chris Perfetti – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series 

• WINNER: Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Paulina Alexis – Reservation Dogs (FX)
• Ayo Edebiri – The Bear (FX)
• Marcia Gay Harden – Uncoupled (Netflix)
• Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Annie Potts – Young Sheldon (CBS)

Best Limited Series

• WINNER: The Dropout (Hulu)
• Gaslit (Starz)
• The Girl from Plainville (Hulu)
• The Offer (Paramount+)
• Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
• Station Eleven (HBO Max)
• This Is Going to Hurt (AMC+)
• Under the Banner of Heaven (FX)

Best Movie Made For Television

• WINNER: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (The Roku Channel)
• Fresh (Hulu)
• Prey (Hulu)
• Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)
• The Survivor (HBO)
• Three Months (Paramount+)

Best Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television 

• WINNER: Daniel Radcliffe – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (The Roku Channel)
• Ben Foster – The Survivor (HBO)
• Andrew Garfield – Under the Banner of Heaven (FX)
• Samuel L. Jackson – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)
• Sebastian Stan – Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
• Ben Whishaw – This is Going to Hurt (AMC+)

Best Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television

• WINNER: Amanda Seyfried – The Dropout (Hulu)
• Julia Garner – Inventing Anna (Netflix)
• Lily James – Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
• Amber Midthunder – Prey (Hulu)
• Julia Roberts – Gaslit (Starz)
• Michelle Pfeiffer – The First Lady (Showtime)

Best Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television 

• WINNER: Paul Walter Hauser – Black Bird (Apple TV+)
• Murray Bartlett – Welcome to Chippendales (Hulu)
• Domhnall Gleeson – The Patient (FX)
• Matthew Goode – The Offer (Paramount+)
• Ray Liotta – Black Bird (Apple TV+)
• Shea Whigham – Gaslit (Starz)

Best Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television

• WINNER: Niecy Nash-Betts – Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
• Claire Danes – Fleishman Is in Trouble (FX)
• Dominique Fishback – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)
• Betty Gilpin – Gaslit (Starz)
• Melanie Lynskey – Candy (Hulu)
• Juno Temple – The Offer (Paramount+)

Best Foreign Language Series 

• WINNER: Pachinko (Apple TV+)
• 1899 (Netflix)
• Borgen (Netflix)
• Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Netflix)
• Garcia! (HBO Max)
• The Kingdom Exodus (MUBI)
• Kleo (Netflix)
• My Brilliant Friend (HBO)
• Tehran (Apple TV+)

 Best Animated Series 

• WINNER: Harley Quinn (HBO Max)
• Bluey (Disney+)
• Bob's Burgers (Fox)
• Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal (Adult Swim)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
• Undone (Prime Video)

 Best Talk Show 

• WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
• The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock)
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
• The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (Bravo)

 Best Comedy Special 

• WINNER: Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)
• Fortune Feimster: Good Fortune (Netflix)
• Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (HBO)
• Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual (Netflix)
• Nikki Glaser: Good Clean Filth (HBO)
• Would It Kill You to Laugh? Starring Kate Berlant & John Early (Peacock)

This awards season, we've rounded up all of our best Oscar predictions for the major prizes. If you're still catching up on your watch list, take a look at our picks for the best movies of 2022 and the best TV shows of 2022.