During the 1990s, Brendan Fraser was the perfect action hero. Young, handsome, and very charming. Half the world wanted him as a boyfriend and the other half as a friend. Who didn’t have a good time watching the The Mummy trilogy or laughing at George of the Jungle? But, by the time these blockbusters hit theaters, Brendan had been on the scene for many years, starring in other gems such as Encino Man and School Ties.
At the beginning of the second decade of the new century came his downfall. Bad movies, a very tough divorce, lawsuits, and almost bankruptcy. Then, Brendan Fraser disappeared from the map due to the sexual assault he suffered from former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk.
Several years passed before he could recover from that terrible experience, and when the world saw his face again, the fat-shaming comments didn’t wait long. Strangely enough, the internet helped him move forward. A reporter told him how much internet users supported him, and Brendan couldn’t help but cry, overwhelmed by the love of millions of strangers.
His comeback was through television (he is Robot Man in Doom Patrol), and he landed in the hands of Darren Aronofsky, who offered him the role of his life: Charlie, the protagonist of The Whale.
“I didn’t feel scared. I felt, I don’t know, energized. I felt enthusiastic. I felt, ‘That’s going to be a good challenge. That’s new. I haven’t seen that before.’ I felt really inspired. I also felt like it was something that I wanted to do so badly that I could feel it in my bones. I had a little talk with myself about how to reprioritize things and beliefs that I may have secretly held before, and how this is going to change so much for so many people,” explained Fraser in an interview with Digital Spy.
To say he is enormous in his role is more than an obvious joke. The actor underwent intense makeup sessions, in which he wore a suit that weighed almost 100 kilos. He also interviewed overweight people to learn their habits and absorb them to bring to life a man who just wanted to be good in a very tough world.
“If directors are painters and actors are different colors, it’s been a long time since there was a color like Brendan on the palette. I’m very proud that he’s getting what he deserves,” commented Aronofsky on the actor’s performance.
The Whale is more than his triumphant comeback; it is the opportunity he was given to prove that he could do more than family comedies and fantasy films. The Whale has been his most important work, and the awards he has received prove it.
“If you, like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this movie, struggle in some way with obesity or just feel like you’re in a dark sea, I want you to know that if you too can muster the strength to stand up and go towards the light, good things will happen,” said the 54-year-old actor when he received the Critics’ Choice award that he took away from Austin Butler, Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal, and Bill Nighy.
But the international recognition has not been a completely rosy story. True to his principles, he refused to attend the Golden Globe Awards ceremony organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. “My mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. They can call me many things, but not that,” he declared during an interview. He refused to accept an award from the people who turned their backs on him and covered up the abuse he suffered.
This is not the last we will see of Brendan Fraser, the actor who was already given a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. This year we will see him in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which will probably mean a new step in his career and, possibly, his definitive consecration.
