Sarah Michelle Gellar honors friend Brendan Fraser: 'If it was up to me, he would win all the awards'

With awards season in full swing, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is lobbying for her friend, actor Brendan Fraser, whom she says deserves all of them.

Earlier this week, the "Do Revenge" star honored Fraser at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival with the festival's American Riviera Award for outstanding achievement in film.

Gellar took to Instagram to share photos of the two of them on the red carpet and wrote in the caption, "I had the greatest privilege to give my dear friend Brendan Fraser his @officialsbiff American Riviera Award."

"If it was up to me, he would win all the awards," she added.

The two actors starred together previously in the 2007 drama "The Air I Breathe."

During her tribute to Fraser, Gellar called him "a gift" and said that he makes people better.

"I've been lucky enough to call Brendan a friend for over 15 years," Gellar said. "When I watched [his] performances, he made me want to become a better actor. But then I got to meet him and know him, and he makes me a better person."

She also said she "ugly cried" when she watched Fraser in "The Whale." Gellar said that just like Charlie, his character in the film, Fraser has the "same desperate longing to do the right thing for the people that he loves."

Fraser joined Gellar on stage and took the mic to accept his award and thank Gellar, adding it was fitting to be introduced by her on Valentine's Day given her "whale-sized heart."

"I treasure and am profoundly grateful for our friendship," Fraser said.

"Quick word about Sarah -- or as I call her, SMG, which stands for sub machine gun -- she automatically makes everyone more intelligent because of how carefully that she listens," he continued, adding jokingly, "She listens to you with the very pores on her body and that makes me a MENSA candidate."

Fraser also called Gellar "an expert on how to navigate being famous," noting that "no one tells you how to do this stuff in Hollywood school."

"She's also the kind of person who will sit up with you all night in a Mexico City hospital room, bring you a stack of crossword puzzles, racy comic books, a fistful of grape bubblegum after Montezuma had exacted upon you his unpleasant revenge after the U2 concert pitstop for tacos al pastor," he added. "I survived it because of Sub Machine Gun."

Fraser is nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for his performance in "The Whale." In the film, he plays Charlie, a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Ellie, who is played by Sadie Sink.

He was previously nominated for a Golden Globe for the role but ultimately lost out to Austin Butler, who won the best actor award for his turn in the biopic "Elvis."

Fraser has also won a number of critics association awards for his role in "The Whale."