Brendan Fraser might cry all the way to an Oscar for ‘The Whale’

“Something must have been in my eye,” Brendan Fraser told me atop Harriet’s Rooftop at 1 Hotel on Wellington.

He tried some more: “I smiled a bit too hard and it made my face leak.”

We were both at the Entertainment Weekly party — held cinq à sept Saturday, the metropolis beckoning below — and I was needling him a bit about the six-minute long standing O he received the other week at the Venice International Film Festival for his leading role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale. In footage that promptly went viral and was worthy of meme status, Fraser started fighting back tears, caught up in the emotion of the moment. A picture worth the proverbial 1,000 words: the comeback of the year.

Well, get set for a long season of man tears, I told the actor. (Indeed, later that weekend, Fraser would reinforce my prognosis when he got choked up accepting a prize at the TIFF Tribute Awards at the Fairmont Royal York — complete with super poignant speech — and then got visibly emotional yet again at his premiere here in Toronto.)

“We are very proud of him,” a beaming blond woman told me, shortly after Fraser had introduced me to her. Afton Smith, her name. He referred to her as his “wife,” though it did hit me later that this is his ex-wife (a divorce that did not come without contentiousness, if I recall).

Famously, they had been together since meeting at a barbecue hosted at Winona Ryder’s house way back when. Perhaps they have reconciled? Or perhaps “wife” is just something that slips off the tongue. In any case, she has been by his side throughout all his appearances in Toronto and mentioned to me that she had also been in Venice with him. The two also introduced me to their son Griffin, the oldest of three boys they share. A pretty handsome lad. Shades of his father in his pretty-boy days.

Its your party and you can cry if you want to, Brendan.

If the response to his transformative presence in “The Whale” is any indication, this one-time Upper Canada College student (did you know he went to the posh school here?) is going all the way. Scott Feinberg, the chief awards-watcher at the Hollywood Reporter, summed it up when he so tweeted: “THE WHALE, which just premiered at TIFF, was a risky movie to make. Tonally, it could’ve so easily gone wrong. The glue that holds it together, because his humanity can shine through any amount of prosthetics, is Brendan Fraser, who’s now your man to beat in the best actor race.”

The rest of the EW party, by the way, co-hosted with Paramount Plus Canada, was awash with celebs. An easy, chill vibe, the soiree coinciding with EW’s TIFF 2022 Must List. Jessica Chastain arrived at one point, looking as sleek as ever. Eddie Redmayne, her co-star in “The Good Nurse,” joined her, looking sharp in a shiny double-breasted number, sans shirt and a little peekaboo of skin (the way a lot of the cool guys have been sporting suits at the fest, including Harry Styles at his premiere).

Stars! They are just like us! Judd Apatow was spotted snapping a selfie with man-of-the-hour Fraser. Stretch those arms, men. Tyler Perry made the rounds in a floral bomber jacket. Mentioned to me it was his first time at a film festival. The great Brian Tyree Henry (who is in “Causeway” with Jennifer Lawrence and is always interesting to watch onscreen) came dressed in a baby pink suit. Luke Macfarlane and Billy Eichner? Accounted for, too. The “Bros” stars bros-ed out, Eichner later moving away from the crowd by climbing up to the higher level of the rooftop where the pool area lies.

Looking smashing, and giving good face furniture, as usual: Bill Nighy. French AF: Léa Seydoux (working a kind of hot, butch police-detective-on-a-’90s-detective-show vibe in an oversized leather blazer). Also noted: many of the cool kids from the buzzy film “On the Come Up,” directed by Sanaa Lathan.

Also, allow me to reintroduce you to miso cod. It is back, baby. I have seen a disproportionate amount of it at various parties during the festival and it was also among the bites going around this party, in bite-sized cushions. Not that I am complaining! I would never.

Meanwhile:

Oprah Winfrey had some thoughts about a royal rapprochement when asked about Harry and Meghan. This, when asked about the duo while out TIFF-ing in Toronto. Asked if she thinks the death of the Queen might inspire some unity in the long run — especially seeing pictures of Wiliam with his brother in recent days — the legendary talk show host told “Extra”: “I think in all families — you know, my father passed recently this summer, and when all families come together for a common ceremony, the ritual of, you know, burying your dead, there is an opportunity for peacemaking. And hopefully, there will be that.”

Also:

In town for a special screening here of his film “Nope” at the Cinesphere — a post-release victory lap of sorts for the summer movie — Jordan Peele dined at new, haute Caribbean hotspot Miss Likklemore’s on King West on Sunday. Peele — one of the few new directors who moves box office on the strength of his name alone — was said to be very gracious. On the menu: Likkle Patties, jerk chicken, Mac pie and salt cod fritters, all washed down with Caribbean beers.

Shinan Govani is a Toronto-based freelance contributing columnist covering culture and society. Follow him on Twitter: @shinangovani

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