Since Oscar campaigning is over and Brendan Fraser has secured his Best Actor trophy, he can enjoy his success. I don’t think jockeying for an award is ever fun, but I imagine Brendan’s was particularly fraught. Yes, fans lavished love upon him in welcoming his return. But he was also made to relive his sexual assault trauma throughout the campaign trail. And while people praised his performance in The Whale, the film and his fat suit that got him there were contentious. Now that he doesn’t have to defend anything, he can just revel in being back and celebrated. And relax, which it sounds like he is. This includes taking his sweet time to find his next role. While speaking with Hannah Storm at the Greenwich International Film Festival, Brendan said he doesn’t have a film lined up yet, adding that he’s “being picky” with his roles.

Brendan Fraser is taking his time choosing his next move.

More than one month after Fraser, 54, won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Whale at the 95th Oscars, the actor noted that he has not yet set plans for his follow-up role during a conversation with broadcast journalist Hannah Storm at the Greenwich International Film Festival’s inaugural Inspiration Talk and award ceremony in Stamford, Conn. Thursday.

“I read the trades the other day. Apparently, I’m going to have to pick up a picket sign,” the actor said, joking in reference to the Writers Guild of America strike enacted on Tuesday, when Storm asked what his plans for future movies look like. “It might be a long summer.”

“At the moment, I don’t have anything — I’m really being picky right now,” he told the audience, noting that he does have a role in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which will receive a world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival this month.

[From People]

Brendan has every right to be picky: he’s proven himself as an actor, was forced to step back from his career for all the wrong reasons, he found his way back and he walked his victory lap with grace. Some outlets are trying to bend this to look like he’s saying he’s changed because he’s an Oscar winner. Eh, I think the next film after an Oscar win does matter. To Brendan’s point, it is also one of the few times an actor has the luxury of being this selective as well, so he should take advantage of that. In Hollywood, fame is feast or famine. And, like he said, there’s a writer’s strike, so he’ll have even more time to shop around since there will be delays across the board #standwithWGA. But what I don’t think Brendan Fraser is saying is that he is too important for a role. He’s grateful to have the opportunity to be able to be picky again.

Fortunately for Brendan, his next project coming out is a Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon. That helps. He spent a lot of his talk in Greenwich discussing how excited he was about it. And about how hot it was filming in Oklahoma. But he said the big ensemble cast was happy to endure it because of Scorsese. That’s probably true for most of the cast, Robert DeNiro’s in this thing and he was probably cranky, thinking I already know all Marty’s tricks – get me an A/C! Brendan apparently has a very small part in the film, but he’s thrilled to be a part of it just the same. He likened the experience to being, “in a Renaissance master’s studio.”

Photo credit: Cover Images