Actor Brendan Fraser has spoken about the physical demand of playing a 600-pound character in director Darren Aronofsky’s new drama, The Whale. The actor revealed he “developed muscles (he) didn’t know (he) had", and "learned to move in a new way". The film premiered at the ongoing Venice Film Festival to a resounding response, with many calling Fraser’s performance his career’s best.
Fraser told reporters during a press conference (via Variety) that one needs to be mentally and physically strong to inhabit the “physical being” of his character. On any given day of filming, he carried additional weight ranging from 50 lbs to 300 lbs. In his own words:
“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.”
In the film, Fraser wore a prosthetic suit (aided by some CGI) to play an English teacher named Charlie, who after leaving his wife and daughter for another man, eats through his grief after his lover's death. Over the course of a week, Charlie attempts to reconnect with his daughter (played by Sadie Sink). If the narrative — both on and off the screen — feels familiar, it’s probably no coincidence. Aronofsky previously extracted a career-best performance out of a seemingly down-and-out Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, another drama about a man grappling with past mistakes and attempting to make amends with his estranged daughter.
Aronofsky said that it took him a decade to cast the role, and that over the years, he considered “all types of different actors” and “every single movie star on the planet” before settling on Fraser, who after establishing himself as one of the world’s biggest stars in the 90s and early 2000s, slipped out of the limelight. Best known for The Mummy trilogy, George of the Jungle and Encino Man, Fraser’s most high-profile roles in the last few years arguably came in the DC series Doom Patrol and Danny Boyle’s FX show Trust. He also appeared in director Steven Soderbergh’s stacked No Sudden Move, and was cast as the antagonist in the now-canceled superhero film Batgirl. He will also be seen in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon.
Aronofsky broke out with the psychological drama Pi, and after a string of critically acclaimed modern classics attained mainstream success with Black Swan. His last film was the divisive Mother!
The Whale also stars Hong Chau, Samantha Morton and Ty Simpkins. It’ll be released in theaters by A24 on December 9. Watch our interview with Fraser here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.