Brendan Fraser is not hesitant to wear his emotions on his sleeve, as seen by his heartfelt response to the Venice Film Festival’s good reception of his new thriller “The Whale.”
According to Variety, Fraser became emotional after the audience gave the cast and crew of “The Whale” a six-minute standing ovation during the film’s Sunday night premiere.
Reportedly, the “George of the Jungle” star “sobbed” during the clapping and repeatedly embraced director Darren Aronofsky. According to Variety, Fraser attempted to leave the stage at one point, but sustained acclaim prompted him to take another bow.
As of Tuesday morning, a film on Reddit that appears to show Fraser crying throughout the standing ovation has received over 70,000 upvotes. In the short video, the teary-eyed actor can be seen standing onstage and bowing while the audience applauds and cheers.
The film ‘The Whale’ is based on the same-titled play and stars Fraser and Sadie Sink.
The playwright Samuel D. Hunter told Vanity Fair that he was inspired to write “The Whale” after reading a student’s response to a writing prompt during his time teaching at Rutgers.
Charlie, portrayed by Fraser, is a reclusive English teacher with life-threatening obesity. As his health deteriorates, Charlie attempts to mend his connection with his adolescent daughter, portrayed by Sink, and mourns the death of his companion.
Hunter told Vanity Fair, “I was self-medicating with food, and it was difficult for me to live in the world as that person.” I had never heard the story stated so precisely.
In the same interview, Aronofsky described Fraser as a perfect fit for the role, stating, “I considered every actor for the role of Charlie, but it never made sense or seemed right.”
And Fraser was pleased to be “reintroduced” through his work on the film, despite having to don prosthetics and a “straight jacket”-like fat suit to represent Charlie.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, so I’m eager to feel like I’m adding to the art and learning from it in the second half of my career. This is an outstanding opportunity. I desired to vanish into it,” the “Mummy” said “star revealed to Vanity Fair. “My objective was to become unrecognizable,”
According to reports, “The Whale” will be released in theaters on December 9.