Brendan Fraser

It's easier to root for Fraser and his much-lauded comeback than it is to actually connect with Aranofsky's inconsistent film.

The way Chau holds a phrase as she recalls Liz’s brother fills in the story gaps and tells us so much about all the characters, not just hers. Beyond that, the performance is hampered by all the physical exertion he has to communicate. The music becomes ominous as Charlie eats and bathes, and more so as he moves, as he cries, even as he laughs. Whatever empathy is lacking elsewhere in the film, Chau compensates for and more. [The Wrestler](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/the-wrestler-2008) and 2010’s [Black Swan](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/black-swan-2010). Aronfosky tries to render the film’s thesis of treating the body as a shell and not the actual real person inside by using horror elements. Fraser’s trying to give Charlie grace, yet most of what we see is the physical difficulty he’s afflicted with. This heartbreak is the reason for the isolation. Many people are rooting for him to succeed and that sentiment has crystalized in hopes that he wins the best actor Oscar next March for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s [The Whale](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/The-Whale-2022). The first scene of the film hits the audience in quick succession: masturbation, a heart attack, and a young missionary (Ty Simpkins) trying to save Charlie’s soul. [The Mummy](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/the-mummy-1999) movies—that enjoyed a cultural resurrection the last few years, attracting new audiences and making him a figure of fan adoration online. Ostensibly a character study of a man desperate to connect before time slips away from him, The Whale becomes an exercise in watching a slow suicide.

Darren Aronofsky's latest has already become a viral sensation after a six-minute standing ovation for Frasier at the Venice Film Festival.

It follows a group of friends celebrating a birthday party in their cramped apartment, only for it to quickly become an exercise in remembering the past and the painful memories that exist therein. Fences (2016): Directed by and starring Denzel Washington, Fences is an adaptation of the play from prolific playwright August Wilson. [six-minute standing ovation](https://collider.com/brendan-fraser-the-whale-standing-ovation-reaction/), pretty obviously implying that those in attendance were fans of the new film. Hunter being involved is a good indication that the feature adaptation of The Whale will be quite faithful to the original. It was there that Aronofsky, Fraser, and the rest of the film received a commendable Being only a minute-long, it is a teaser in every sense of the word, shining a particular spotlight on Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, and Hong Chau.

The actor reminisced about his role and diet for the 1997 action film during a discussion with Adam Sandler for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series.

"My heart was broken throughout the whole movie," Sandler said. [a recent interview with his longtime friend Freddie Prinze Jr.](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/brendan-fraser-and-freddie-prinze-jr-on-trauma-and-transformation) for Interview magazine, Fraser spoke about his process of transforming into Charlie, a reclusive, obese English teacher who struggles to connect with his estranged daughter throughout the critically acclaimed film. Sandler noted how "jacked" Fraser got for the role. "You made us feel bad about ourselves." "George eats bananas and swings around all day and wears a loincloth." The film, which also starred Leslie Mann and John Cleese, was a spoof of the Tarzan story.

Brendan Fraser's performance as a lonely, obese man has earned Oscar buzz, but many in the fat-acceptance movement are anticipating this movie with dread.

[Bros](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/notes-on-hollywood/will-straight-people-go-see-bros),” Branum plays the main character’s saucy sidekick, a bon vivant who goes to parties and cracks wise. “The points that it is making about fat people are not distinguishable to me from the points that are made on ‘1000-Lb. “Maybe subconsciously that was one of the reasons I wanted to write this, because I was just sick of seeing that deployed so often,” he said. “Some people I really respect were telling me what a great and beautiful play it is,” he recalled. “When I lost the weight, I was shocked at how much nicer people were to me in general, like cashiers or people on the street. Gordon, who is part of a movement to embrace rather than pathologize fatness (including reclaiming the word “fat”), hadn’t responded to the script as I had. She hadn’t seen “The Whale,” but she had bought the play when she heard about the film. Aronofsky, no stranger to visceral body horror (“ [Black Swan](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/06/fancy-footwork),” “ [The Wrestler](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/12/15/ring-cycles)”), is faithful to the play, but cinematic realism—the flesh made literal—creates an ogling effect. (The New Yorker’s John Lahr, in his [review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/11/19/supersize), praised Hunter’s “promise as a bold theatrical storyteller.”) On the page, the play transported me into Charlie’s mind, where I could share his yearning for connection; his voice, not his bulk, was what tugged at the imagination. “This is a mighty act of becoming, the film seems to insist—and also one of empathy,” Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson [profile](https://www.gq.com/story/what-ever-happened-to-brendan-fraser) titled “What Ever Happened to Brendan Fraser?,” he described falling into a depression after being groped by Philip Berk, the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. At fifty-three, Fraser was heavier than in his heartthrob days, though nothing close to his character in “The Whale.” He seemed almost befuddled to be embraced so warmly, after years of neglect from Hollywood.

Sandler revealed to “The Whale” star that he had to fight a director — and Pauly Shore — to get Fraser one of his earliest roles.

Sandler also revealed that the director wasn’t the only obstacle in Fraser’s eventual casting. Early on in their conversation, Fraser was completely surprised by a story Sandler told him about their 1994 film “Airheads,” in which both play members of a metal band who hold a radio station hostage to play their demo tape. ‘Just know Adam Sandler ain’t going to be in ‘Airheads’ unless old Fraser is in it.’ So he changed his little tune,” Sandler said. “[The director] Michael Lehmann was very against you,” Sandler told a shocked Fraser. “He was like, ‘I don’t get it. I said …

Exclusive: Brendan Fraser hopes The Whale shines a light on the harmful language and judgments that society has towards people with weight issues.

Understanding and empathizing with Charlie's story in The Whale, including the root cause of his weight issues, has the potential to truly change hearts and minds just as Fraser hopes. Fraser's condemnation of society's lack of empathy points to a larger problem and conversation that The Whale may be able to open up. Fraser's call to action about people understanding the ramifications of not only their words but also their judgments and prejudices brings a new depth to The Whale's meaning. I think it's a personal view, but I think we can do a lot better as a society to dispense with what is common in so far as how we are casual about how we refer to those who have weight issues in their life. The Whale explores Charlie's quest to reconnect with his estranged daughter as well as his relationships with his closest friend, ex-wife, and a missionary. [Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation.](https://screenrant.com/whale-movie-praise-acclaim-brendan-fraser-response/) During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Fraser condemned how the media portrays and refers to "those who have weight issues in their life."

"I was approached," The Whale star confirms to EW, also suggesting that the studio wasn't able to meet his salary request to reprise the role. Joey Nolfi.

"What's important is that, either by design or accident, the amount of time it took for me to arrive at the place where I could faithfully play Charlie with the dignity, authenticity, and honesty that it demands, may not have been at my disposal had I not gone on that journey." [Darren Aronofsky's The Whale](https://ew.com/movies/the-whale-writer-brendan-fraser-film-opposite-side-fatphobia-hollywood/), Fraser plays Charlie, a reclusive English professor with a compulsive eating disorder, who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter in the final days of his life. I'll give you the answer: It doesn't matter," he explains, adding that, in addition to starring in I've never been that far away, is the short answer, and the [philosophical] answer is, really, was I away, or was everyone away from me? I can't remember what I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wanted to go do The Quiet American instead with Michael Caine, and shoot the first Western film in Vietnam ever, directed by Phillip Noyce, to tell an infinitely American story," Fraser continues. With a bit of distance, I think they've all cumulatively led up to the place I'm in now."

Brendan Fraser has revealed the drastic lengths he would go to in a desperate bid to achieve his ideal appearance for his role in "George of the Jungle."

It brought traffic to a standstill on either side of the bridge,” the 53-year-old told “You did right by the character. But you did wrong by us, man. Banging on the thing. I didn’t eat that night,” he added. “I was waxed.