Actor Brendan Fraser stands by his and director Darren Aronofsky’s decision to wear a fat suit to play the 600-lb. man in The Whale. Speaking at the New York City premiere of the film he said,

“I think it’s one of the more exacting ways you can create a character and body,” Fraser, 53, says of the process, “and in this case the mandate that Charlie’s costume would respect the laws of gravity and physics as opposed to the many ways that we’ve seen that character depicted in films before as really a one-note joke, and in a costume that’s just unfair.”

His decision and opinion have been critiqued by many, especially actor Daniel Franzese, who rose to fame in Mean Girls. Franzese who is obese himself said,

“To finally have a chance to be in a prestige film that might be award-nominated, where stories about people who look like us are being told? That’s the dream,” said Franzese, 44. “So when they go time and time again and cast someone like Brendan Fraser, me and the other big queer guys, we’re like, ‘What the … ?’ We can’t take it!”

Many have argued that actor Brendan Fraser’s role in The Whale should have gone to an actual obese male.

Brendan Fraser’s 6-minute Standing Ovation at the 2022 Venice Film Festival

Brendan Fraser is back in the spotlight, receives 6-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival

Well-known 90’s star of blockbuster films like The Mummy franchise, George of the Jungle, actor Brendan Fraser was visibly hiding tears receiving his 6-minute standing ovation at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. Even more! Fraser wanted to exit the venue but was pulled back by the audience’s ovation to his and director Darren Aronofsky’s drama- The Whale. The film has received a very positive response at its Venice premiere, and rumor has it that Fraser will get an Oscar nod this year!

The Whale 

In the film, Fraser plays the role of a 600-pound morbidly obese gay man in a wheelchair. He struggles to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter (played by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink). To play this role, Fraser wore a prosthetic suit that added 50 – 300 pounds to him.

“I developed muscles I did not know I had,” Fraser told journalists at the Venice press conference about wearing the prosthetic suit. The movie is adapted into a script by Samuel D. Hunter, who has a stage play by the same name.

Fraser’s #MeToo and subsequent hiatus

The once famed actor took a leave from the spotlight in 2003 due to an alleged sexual assault incident he faced. He almost quit Hollywood and gained many pounds in the coming years. The Whale is Fraser’s much-deserved comeback.