WASHINGTON: 'Don't Worry Darling' star Harry Styles was soft-spoken while accepting an award for one of his first major movie roles at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
According to Variety, Styles, a man of relatively few words, and the cast of 'My Policeman' received the ensemble award at the festival's Tribute Awards on Sunday night.
"Thank you so much to everyone here, on behalf of all of us, for this wonderful, wonderful award," said Styles, who stars in the romantic drama as a closeted police officer. "We all loved working on this film so much. And we hope you enjoy it."
Styles then hastily exited the Fairmont Royal York, where the annual gala is held while carrying the train of his co-star Emma Corin's long, black dress.
However, there were enough other A-listers to make the three-hour party lively. Even though the festival is still going on, Toronto conducted its fourth annual tribute awards, honouring stars including Michelle Yeoh, Sam Mendes, Brendan Fraser, and Oscar-winning composer Hildur Gunadottir of 'Joker,' 'Women Talking,' and 'Tar.'
Buffy Sainte-Marie, an Oscar-winning composer who received another award that evening, remarked about the need of casting Indigenous people in Indigenous roles. Sainte-Marie declared, "It's more significant than just fooling white people. These individuals will see your movies with their complete civilizations present. Could 'The Sopranos' have been cast without Italians? "
Fraser then reconnected with Yeoh, his co-star from 'The Mummy 3,' while Colman and Mendes presided over a table near the front of the room as fans approached them to express their admiration for their work.
Fraser started the awards season on an emotional note, breaking down in tears during the Venice world premiere of 'The Whale,' which was followed by Sunday night's gala. His portrayal of a 600-pound gay guy in a wheelchair is anticipated to propel him to the front of the race for this year's best actor Oscar. His performance was equally embraced at TIFF (though the standing ovation was slightly shorter).
At Sunday's ceremony, Fraser again appeared to be visually emotional as Aronofsky introduced him by saying, "We need more people like Brendan Fraser, the man and the actor."
For Fraser, "The Whale" marks a career resurgence as his first major film role in years. He thanked the fans ("It's the audience that gives cinema life," he says) for "keeping me in the job that I love."
"Art is about taking a risk, and you should know that [Aronofsky and screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter] took a chance on me, and I will be forever grateful to them," he said. "'The Whale' is a redemption story."
With his trophy in hand, Fraser remarked, "This is new for me. Normally, I'm the guy at the podium who hands these things out."
'My Policeman' is set in the 1950s and sees Harry star as policeman Tom, who falls in love with a schoolteacher in Brighton. However, he soon begins a same-sex romance with a museum curator despite homosexuality being illegal at the time.
