The Brendan Fraser renaissance, or Brenaissance if you prefer, is now in full swing, with the beloved actor set to appear as we’ve never seen him before in director Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale for studio A24. Not only will The Whale find Fraser in a role unlike anything that has come before it, playing a reclusive teacher suffering from severe obesity, but Fraser himself has now teased that the movie itself will also have a certain unique-ness to it.
“It’s gonna be like something you haven’t seen before. That’s really all I can tell you.”
Brendan Fraser is notably cagey when discussing the project, which should come as little surprise considering the previous work of Darren Aronofosky typically involves distinctive, dynamic elements. Aronofsky’s back catalogue is a particularly stellar one, and includes such haunting cinematic delights as Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan and The Wrestler. Each movie is imbued with its own narrative quirks and evocative atmosphere, and, according to Fraser, The Whale will be no different.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale is based on Hunter’s play of the same name, and stars Brendan Fraser as Charlie, a 600-pound middle-aged man and English teacher who tries to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter, with the pair having grown apart after Charlie abandoned his family for his gay lover, who later died. Sadly, Charlie has spent his grief and shame binge eating in an attempt to drown out the pain and guilt.
Starring Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins alongside Fraser, the Doom Patrol star has since revealed that the movie is “already in the can” and that his role included “a lot of make-up and prosthetics.”
“Adapting my play into a screenplay has been a real labor of love for me,” said Hunter. “This story is deeply personal and I’m very thankful it will have the chance to reach a wider audience. I’ve been a fan of Darren’s ever since I saw Requiem for a Dream when I was a college freshman writing my first plays, and I’m so grateful that he’s bringing his singular talent and vision to this film.”
Brendan Fraser has several intriguing, high-profile projects in the pipeline, with the actor teaming up with all manner of talented creatives both in front of and behind the camera. Released earlier this year, the period crime thriller No Sudden Move finds Fraser under the direction of Steven Soderbergh and starring alongside Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, and Amy Seimetz.
Sticking with crime dramas, Fraser is also now set to star in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming western Killers of the Flower Moon alongside acting icons Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The movie details a period during which several members of the Osage tribe in the United States were murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s, sparking a major FBI investigation involving J. Edgar Hoover. Make no mistake, Fraser is back, and we couldn’t be happier.
The Whale is expected to be released in early 2022. This comes to us courtesy of Unilad.
Source: movieweb.com