Director Darren Aronofsky has revealed how it felt to pluck The Mummy star Brendan Fraser “from the wilderness” by casting him in his now Oscar nominated role in The Whale. Speaking with Total Film, Aronofsky explained that he did not intentionally go looking for an actor lost in “the wilderness,” and that it wasn’t until he saw Fraser in a trailer for a low-budget Brazilian movie that he had his “light bulb” moment.
Fraser spoke of being out in the wilderness during his emotional speech at the Critics’ Choice Awards, which saw the actor awarded for Best Actor. “I was in the wilderness and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs,” he said. “But you found me and like all the best directors you showed me where I had to go to get to where I needed to be.”
“No one was really thinking about him that much. It wasn’t really my calculation, it wasn’t like, ‘hey, I’m gonna go find an unexpected choice’. I had been struggling to find someone to play the role for a long time. And then when I saw him in this trailer for a low-budget, Brazilian movie, a light bulb went off. And I said, ‘Oh, well, we never actually thought of him.’ Through all of the different casting directors and all of the years of thinking, no one had stumbled on that idea.”
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Based on the 2012 play by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale sees Brendan Fraser leading the latest outing from director Darren Aronofsky as Charlie, a 600-pound middle-aged man who tries to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter. The two have grown apart after Charlie abandoned his family for his gay lover, who later died, which leads to Charlie binge-eating out of pain and guilt.
Adapted for the screen by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale stars Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins alongside Brendan Fraser, with Stranger Things star Sadie Sink starring as Ellie, Charlie’s daughter.
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Brendan Fraser is Now an Oscar Nominee
Vanity Fair
Thanks to his powerful central performance in The Whale, the Brenaissance has reached new heights, with Brendan Fraser now an Academy Award nominee. Revealed as a nominee for Best Actor at the 95th Academy Awards, Fraser will be up against the likes of Austin Butler for Elvis, Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin, Paul Mescal for Aftersun, and Bill Nighy for Living.
“I’m absolutely overjoyed and deeply grateful to The Academy for this recognition and for recognizing Hong Chau’s beautiful performance and Adrien Morot’s incredible makeup,” Fraser said following the announcement. “I wouldn’t have this nomination without Darren Aronofsky, Samuel D. Hunter, A24 and the extraordinary cast and crew who gave me the gift of Charlie. A gift I certainly didn’t see coming, but it’s one that has profoundly changed my life. THANK YOU!”
Alongside Best Actor for Brendan Fraser, The Whale has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Hong Chau and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
