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It was a night of anticipated comebacks for many at the 95th Academy Awards.
Emotions peaked right off the hop at the Oscars following the Best Supporting Actor category, which went to Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Ke Huy Quan.
“My mom is 84 years old, and she’s at home watching. Mom, I just won an Oscar!!”
The 51 year old actor, who fled Vietnam as a refugee, first hit the big screen when he was just 12 starring along side Harrison Ford in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
However over time his roles had become fewer and fewer and prior to being cast in Everything Everywhere All at Once…he considered moving on.
“My journey started on a boat, I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage,” an emotionally charged Quan remarked. “They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe its happening to me. This…this is the American Dream.”
Quan was joined almost immediately after by his co-star, Jamie Lee Curtis, who took best supporting actress for her role in that very same film.
The multiverse epic, swept through the Oscars with 7 wins from 11 nominations, including, Best Director, Best Picture and earned Michelle Yeoh an accolade for Best Actress.
Yeoh called her win a way point for Asian actors everywhere.
“For all the little boys and girls, who look like me, watching tonight…this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof dream big and dreams do come true.”
Her speech also included a subtle jab at some stigmas in Hollywood.
“And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up.”
A term which made its way into the lexicon of society was “The Brenaissance”, in connection to the return of actor Brendan Fraser, who has been gathering acclaim for his role as an obese gay shut in who attempts to reconnect with his daughter in The Whale, and it peaked last evening when he took home the Oscar for Best Actor.
“So this is what the multiverse looks like!” he exclaimed after taking to the stage. “I’m grateful to Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship ‘The Whale’. It was written by Samuel D. Hunter who is our lighthouse.”
The Whale also picked up an award for Best Makeup.
Other winners included Canadian Sarah Polley who got her first Oscar win with her Adapted Screenplay Women Talking, Guillermo del Toro scored best Animated Feature Film for his version of Pinocchio.
Meanwhile box office juggernauts Top Gun Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of the Water picked up Best Sound, Costume Design and Visual Effects respectively.
A full list of last night’s winners can be found here.