Brendan Fraser is circling a full-fledged career comeback in his newest film, The Whale. His role in Darren Aronofsky's newest film has been hotly anticipated for months, and it looks like the anticipation is more than warranted, as the Toronto International Film Festival has just announced that they will be honoring Fraser with the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance for his role in the film.
Though the award is relatively new to the festival, having been introduced in 2019, it has proven to be a predictor of awards season success. Previous recipients of the award include Jessica Chastain, Anthony Hopkins, and Joaquin Phoenix, each of whom took home an Oscar for their TIFF Tribute awarded roles. Other recipients of this year's TIFF Tribute Awards include the entire cast of My Policeman, which includes Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Rupert Everett, Linus Roache, and David Dawson. Sam Mendes has been named the recipient of the Director Award this year for his film Empire of Light.
This is certainly a step in the right direction for Fraser's career, which has seen a resurgence in recent years. Early in his career, Fraser distinguished himself as both a comedic and romantic lead. Starring in films such as the 1999 action-comedy The Mummy and the underappreciated and devilish 2000 film Bedazzled, Fraser was an iconic and inescapable presence in film during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Though Fraser has worked consistently since the beginning of his film career, his return as a leading man has been long awaited. In recent years, Fraser has accumulated several high-profile roles, in films such as Steven Soderbergh's 2021 project No Sudden Move and Martin Scorsese's upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon.
The Whale is the film set to put Fraser back in a leading role. The film was originally announced in January 2021, with Aronofsky directing and Fraser taking the lead role. Shortly after the project was announced, Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, and Samantha Morton joined the cast. The screenplay for the film was written by Samuel D. Hunter, who also wrote the original 2012 play. The Whale tells the story of a 600-pound man named Charlie, played by Fraser, who is struggling to try and reconnect with his teenage daughter, Sink, after he abandoned her and her mother to be with a same-sex partner.
The Whale is set to premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 4. The Whale will also be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. No theatrical release date has yet been announced. You can take a look at the video below to get a glimpse at Brendan Fraser's 600-pound transformation for The Whale.