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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Victoria Johns

Brendan Fraser gives shout out to his autistic son Griffin in tear-jerking Oscars speech

Brendan Fraser gave a special shout out to his autistic son when he won the Oscar for Best Actor on Sunday.

The star, 54, won the award for his stunning performance in The Whale.

Taking to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Brendan, who attended the ceremony with his two other sons, Holden, 18, and Leland, 16 said: "Griffin, love you buddy".

The actor, who plays an overweight father in The Whale, has previously spoken about his son, saying: "I have three kids of my own, my oldest son Griffin has special needs - he's autistic.

"He just turned 20, he's a big kid, he's six foot five, he's got big hands and feet, a big body. I understand intimately what it is to be close to a person who lives with obesity."

The father-of-three went on to say that Griffin is the 'happiest person' in his life, explaining that he doesn't know what 'cynicism' is because of his autism.

Brendan Fraser gave a special shout out to his autistic son when he bagged the Oscar for Best Actor (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Brendan continued: "And because of the beauty of his spectrum - call it a disorder if you will, I disagree with you - he knows nothing of irony.

"He doesn't know what cynicism is. You can't insult him. He can't insult you. He's the happiest person and is, in my life and many others', also the manifestation of love," he told Interview Magazine.

The award-winner beat stars including Austin Butler and Colin Farrell to take home the Best Actor gong at the star-studded event on Sunday.

He plays an overweight father in The Whale (DAILY MIRROR)

Brendan - who says he was 'blacklisted" by Hollywood after claiming he was the victim of a sexual assault in the industry - was overwhelmed as he accepted the accolade on stage.

“So this is what the multiverse looks like,” he said, holding the award.

“I thank the Academy for this honour…Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship The Whale."

Addressing his fellow best actor nominees, he continued: “You laid your whale-sized hearts bare…and it is my honour to be named alongside you in this category.

Brendan beat stars including Austin Butler and Colin Farrell to bag the Oscar (Getty Images)

“I want to tell you that only whales can swim at the depths of the talent of Hong Chau,” he said.

“I started in this business 30 years ago…there was a facility that that I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped.”

Fans watching at home were moved by the speech during which the actor's voice appeared to be breaking with emotion.

One viewer tweeted: "I'm REALLY happy for Brendan Fraser. Well deserved and I'm loving his comeback story #Oscars #AcademyAwards."

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