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Brendan Fraser was brought to tears at the BFI London Film Festival after The Whale received a five-minute standing ovation. The Darren Aronofsky-directed film, which was adapted for the screen from his own play by Samuel D. Hunter, marks something of a comeback for the 53-year-old actor.
Fraser has spent time in the Hollywood wilderness due, in part, to depression caused by his mother’s death and a divorce, as well as an accusation of sexual assault. However, in the last couple of years has begun to ramp up his workload, featuring in 2019’s Line of Descent and joining the ensemble for Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move. He will also appear in next year’s Killers of the Flower Moon from director Martin Scorsese.
The Whale, which sees Fraser play a 600-pound middle-aged man who tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter after he abandoned his family for a former lover, has largely earned praise from critics for the actor’s touching performance. Aronofsky said in a recent interview that Fraser’s presence was an example of “the right actor, for the right part, at the right time.”
Brendan Fraser in The Mummy.
The film, which will be released in cinemas in December, received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September where it received a similar response from the audience.
“I feel very excited, I feel very fortunate, I feel very happy to be here in London. This is more than I ever expected,” he told Sky News, while fans chanted his name outside the theatre.
Aronofsky said he cast Fraser without realising the response the star would receive. “I didn’t realise how much Brendan’s films meant for so many people. It wasn’t part of my calculation in casting. But it’s beautiful that that’s happened and that he’s bringing so much happiness to the fans.”
The moment was not lost on those in the industry. His former The Mummy Returns co-star Dwayne Johnson congratulated him on his return to the Hollywood spotlight and said: “Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan. He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career.”
Brendan Fraser breaks down in tears during five-minute standing ovation at London screening of The Whale
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— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) October 12, 2022
Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival in September, Fraser said: “I’ve had such variety, a lot of high highs and low lows, so what I’m keen for, in the second half of my time doing this, is to feel like I’m contributing to the craft and I’m learning from it. This is a prime opportunity. I wanted to disappear into it. My hope was that I would become unrecognisable.
“So often, I have just felt like a working actor who was glad to have a job: ‘What do you got? I’ll do it,” he said, according to the Toronto Star. “And that’s a different guy than who I am right now.”
He added: “In recent years, when I was a bit more reticent to step forward – have a life with kids and an oldest son with special needs, another kid who’s going to be a senior now and another one who is [learning] to drive and he’s picking up guitar – I think it just gave me a sense of purpose that I don’t know that I would have appreciated as a younger man.”
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