Aurora Starchild
Brendan Fraser is making his way back onto the silver screen, and this time he’s making history. The actor just received a 6-minute standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival. The premiere of Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale ended with an entire audience breaking down in tears. Fraser was crying along with the crowd.
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In The Whale, Fraser plays the lead role of Charlie, a 600-lb gay English teacher confined to a wheelchair. Charlie attempts to rekindle his relationship with his estranged daughter, played by Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink.
Fraser had to gain weight for the role on top of wearing a prosthetic suit. The suit added between 50 and 300 pounds depending on the scene. He also had to sit for about 6 hours a day in makeup getting ready for filming. The dedication he poured into this role is astounding.
Fraser was honored with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Tribute Award a couple of weeks ago, prior to the premiere of The Whale at any festival. News of his dedication to the role and a viral image of his body transformation was enough to land him the award.
Variety reports that Fraser told journalists at a press conference before the festival that “I developed muscles I did not know I had.”
Fraser continued, “I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed; it was like stepping off the dock onto a boat in Venice. That [sense of] undulating. It gave me appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. You need to be an incredibly strong person, mentally and physically, to inhabit that physical being.”
Director Aronofsky told Variety that it took a decade to make The Whale, and that was because it took the same amount of time to decide who would play Charlie. He said when he saw Brendan Fraser in the trailer of a low-budget Brazilian movie, “a lightbulb went off.”
