Brendan Fraser was the Hollywood hero of the late 90s and early 2000s. He made an indelible impact on the film industry with his role in ‘The Mummy‘ trilogy, which was, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining and thrilling franchises of that time. However, Brendan’s fame came crashing down. By 2008, both of Brendan’s main lead films, ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth‘ and ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor‘ failed miserably.
The actor then moved to small-budget movies and TV series. In 2018, Fraser came clean of the sudden downward spiral in his career: he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk in 2003. The incident left him depressed, which negatively affected his acting career. However, the actor tried his best to overcome that and landed with DC’s ‘Doom Patrol‘ in 2019, and now, he’s again proved his passion for acting with ‘The Whale‘ which premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival. Fraser’s acting moved everyone, so much so, that he received long minutes of standing ovation with thunderous claps. Here’s what touched people’s hearts.
Read More: Why Did Brendan Fraser Take A Break From Acting?
Brendan Fraser Plays The Role Of A Handicapped Obese Gay Man
Now back on the screens, Brendan made his viewers overcome with emotions with his raw, natural and sympathetic acting. In Darren Aronofsky’s drama film, ‘The Whale‘, Fraser plays the role of a gay man, who weighs 600 pounds and is confined to a wheelchair. The man is trying his level best to connect with his estranged daughter. The drama film ended with a heartbreaking scene, making everyone pull out their handkerchiefs. As the credits rolled out, the viewers couldn’t stop themselves from giving a standing ovation to the masterpiece they had witnessed, but this grand gesture of applause and wonderment was directed more explicitly towards Brendan.
According to the witnesses present there, Brendan, who was also among the viewers, received a six-minute long standing ovation and thunderous claps. The 53-year-old actor was moved to tears as the applauses didn’t seem to reach any ends. A video shared by Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, Ramin Setoodeh, shows Fraser trying to exit the theatre but stops himself multiple times as the roar of the applauses makes him teary-eyed. He thanks everyone with an exaggerated bow, all the while mildly sobbing. Fraser also hugged Aronofsky several times during the ovation.
The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay. #Venezia79 pic.twitter.com/ZZ0vbFX7Rl
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) September 4, 2022
Fraser Shares The Experience Of Playing Such A Challenging Role
Playing the role of an obese man meant Fraser had to role-act with prosthetics, apart from the CGI edit which made minor changes to the appearance of the character. During the event, Fraser said that the prosthetics, which added an extra 300 lbs to his physical appearance, took a toll on him. He even mentioned that when the prosthetics were removed, he “even felt a sense of vertigo,” and also felt like “stepping off the dock into a boat”.
