Brendan Fraser is making a comeback on the big screen. Earlier this week, Fraser’s astonishing physical change to play a 600-pound man in the movie was revealed by the production firm A24.
Sadie Sink from Stranger Things co-stars with Fraser in the role of a reclusive writing instructor who is trying to get back in touch with his adolescent daughter.
The Whale, which also stars Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton, and Hong Chau, will make its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival later this year.
Fraser hinted at what viewers may anticipate from the movie in a 2017 interview with Unilad, calling it “something you haven’t seen before.”
Fraser told the newspaper, “That’s really all I can tell you…The wardrobe and costume was extensive, seamless, cumbersome.”
“This is certainly far removed from anything I’ve ever done but not to be coy — I do know it’s going to make a lasting impression,” he said.
Although he did have a role in last year’s No Sudden Move and has recently been on TV roles on episodes like Doom Patrol, The Affair, and Trust, Fraser’s position in the Aronofsky-directed drama will represent the The Mummy actor’s first main role since 2013’s Breakout. Fraser also has a role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, and he is slated to portray the antagonist in the future Batgirl film.
Fraser’s emotional comeback to the big screen has been heartwarming. The 53-year-old actor was a little taken aback by the support for his comeback at a virtual meet-and-greet with a fan on TikTok last year.
In the video shot in Oklahoma, where he was scheduled to shoot the Scorsese-directed production, Fraser remarked, “I think I might be sick… A little anxious. I mean, it’s going to be fun…”
The fan then intervened and said to Fraser, “You’ve got this. Just know that the internet is so behind you!”
“We’re so supportive,” she added. “There are so many people out there who love you, and we’re rooting for you, and we can’t wait to see what you do next.”
Fraser tipped his cap and said, “Shucks, ma’am,” as he began to choke up.
In 2018, Fraser spoke candidly about the cause of his departure from Hollywood. The actor claimed that Philip Berk, the former head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, had touched him at a luncheon in 2003 in a piece for GQ.
Fraser stated that the alleged incident occurred at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles right before he was going to shake hands and part ways with Berk. Berk has denied the allegation. In that moment, Fraser claimed, Berk’s left hand “reaches around, grabs my a** cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around.”
He revealed, “I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry.”
Fraser claimed that he held off making the accusations public in fear of “humiliation” and that his story would turn into his “narrative.” He further asserted that he received few invitations to the Golden Globes after 2003, which Berk refuted.
“It made me retreat. It made me feel reclusive,” Fraser said. “I don’t know if this curried disfavor with the group, with the HFPA. But the silence was deafening.”
“I was blaming myself and I was miserable,” he added. “Because I was saying, ‘This is nothing; this guy reached around and he copped a feel.’ That summer wore on — and I can’t remember what I went on to work on next.”