‘Whale’: Brendan Fraser’s big comeback

Forget the athletic actor who played heroes in action films during the ’90s and 2000s. It’s the completely unrecognizable Brendan Fraser who is back in the limelight after a long absence from cinema to defend the lead role of the drama. Whalea very fat man.

A new film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, based on the play of the same title by Samuel D. Whale (Whalein the French version) tells the story of Charlie (Fraser), a literature professor who weighs over 600 pounds and can no longer leave his small apartment in Idaho, and who is forced to deliver his courses online to keep his computer camera off.

Knowing his days are numbered, Charlie will try to reconcile with his daughter (Sadie Sink), a rebellious teen who still resents him for abandoning her and her mother, to go live with one of his students a few years ago. .

Brendan Fraser knew nothing about the Samuel D. Hunter play until he got a call from Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Mom!) a few months before the pandemic. The director has been struggling for a long time to find the right actor to play this atypical character.

Brendan Fraser said during a video meeting with some reporters last month: “When I met Darren, he didn’t even know if he was going to direct the movie because he was having trouble with acting.

He immediately wanted to know if I was ready for this kind of challenge. He told me it was a story of redemption about a man who had regrets in his life and wanted to reconnect with his daughter before she died.

When I read the script, I immediately wanted to take part in this project, despite the seriousness of the topic. I felt it was the right project to go back to cinema. I thought it would make more of an impact on the crowd if I turned left when everyone was expecting me to turn right.

hours of makeup

To slip into Charlie’s shoes, the 54-year-old actor had to spend four to six hours in the makeup chair each morning before filming. To complete this physical transformation, he also had to wear 300-pound prostheses that were custom designed in 3D by Montreal makeup artist Adrien Morot.

In addition to preparing for the role of a movie star mummy And the A trip to the center of the earth He spent a lot of time with people from the Obesity Action Coalition, an organization that helps people with obesity.

“It was a transformative experience for me, both physically and mentally,” says Brendan Fraser. I can remove this body at the end of the shooting day. But those who struggle with obesity on a daily basis are not so lucky. I know you can’t imagine what it’s like to live with that weight without experiencing it for yourself.

“Personally, this experience has given me so much respect and empathy for these people. How can we, as a society, so cruelly and unfairly reject people who are obese. The story the film tells takes place in a small apartment in Idaho. But it is a reality that is omnipresent throughout all across the country even in the world.”

Pisces hits theaters December 21st.