Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has paid tribute to Brendan Fraser for helping to launch his acting career.
Fraser recently received a six-minute standing ovation at this year's Venice International Film Festival for his role in Darren Aronofsky's latest flick, The Whale - a movie about a father trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter while also struggling with obesity.
Footage of the 53-year-old actor breaking down in tears during the applause went viral, prompting Johnson to post a tribute of his own on Twitter.
"Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan. He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career.
"Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky," the former WWE champion wrote.
Johnson and Fraser starred together in 2001's The Mummy Returns - the trilogy Fraser is perhaps most known for - and it would appear as if Johnson is grateful for the time he spent with Fraser and how it helped shape his own blockbuster Hollywood acting career.
In the action flick, the former WWE legend played Mathayus of Akkad, aka The Scorpion King. Despite the role being relatively small (and featuring laughable CGI), Johnson would go on to star in his own Mummy spin-off, The Scorpion King, in 2002.
Film and TV review site Rotten Tomatoes currently has The Whale rated at an impressive 81% - with film critics singing the praises of the new movie.
Robin Collins from the Independent gave the movie a 5/5, writing that Aronofsky's latest project was: "A piercing, compassionate parable about grace and reconciliation, told with truly Biblical force."
A critic from The Playlist rated The Whale an A-, commending Fraser's role in the flick: "What 'The Whale' boasts in abundance — in this riveting study of a deeply broken man, suffocated by nine years of self-immolation — is a rare and deep compassion, elevated by Brendan Fraser's transformative turn."
"A film that – while not without flaws – reflects tenderly on shame, guilt, and the human impulse to care and be cared for," Hannah Strong, a critic from Little White Lies said.
Some critics didn't think too highly of the movie, however, with Collider rating it a D+ and saying: "It is inorganic, gimmicky, manipulative, and its lessons are simplistic. As a character, Charlie remains mostly a body. He has a kindness to him, but this role is mostly to react to the wants and needs of others."
However, murmurings within the film community predict that the flick may even net Fraser an Oscar.
In fact, BBC arts journalist and film critic Nicholas Barber has bold stated: "Fraser richly deserves to be nominated for a best actor Oscar, and if that doesn't happen, I won't just eat my hat, I'll eat as many pizzas and cheese-and-meatball sandwiches as Charlie gets through in the film."
Darren Aronofsky's The Whale is set for release in the United States on Friday, December 9, 2022.