Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser Gives Emotional Best Actor Acceptance Speech at Critics Choice Awards: Watch
Brendan Fraser embodied one of the most-discussed roles of 2022 in his comeback film The Whale, and when he was honored with Best Actor at the Critics Choice Awards, he delivered another emotional performance in his acceptance speech. “I was in the wilderness, and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs, but you found me,” Fraser said, thanking The Whale director Darren Aronofsky. “And like all the best directors, you merely just showed me where to go to get to where I needed to be.” To a standing ovation, Fraser continued, “If you, like a guy like Charlie, who I played in this movie, in any way struggle with obesity or you just feel like you’re in a dark sea, I want you to know that if you too can have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light, go...
James Corden Says He Almost Played Brendan Fraser’s Part in The Whale
If there’s one good thing to have come out of Darren Aronofsky’s polarizing latest film The Whale, it’s the arguably overdue renaissance of leading man Brendan Fraser — but what if one of the most annoying men in showbiz had worn the fat suit instead? James Corden recently revealed that he nearly starred in the A24 movie, with fashion mogul-turned-filmmaker Tom Ford originally planning to direct. Deadline’s Pete Hammond brought up The Whale while attending a recent Q&A surrounding Corden’s new Amazon series Mammals: “I was going to play that part, and Tom Ford was going to direct,” the Late Late Show host said, adding that he thought he might be too young to do the character justice. According to Corden, Ford ended up leaving the film because he wanted complete control o...
Brendan Fraser Won’t Attend Golden Globes After Former Head Allegedly Groped Him
While Brendan Fraser is making the award-season circuit in support of his new film, The Whale, he won’t be attending the Golden Globes, telling GQ in a new cover story, “No, I will not participate,” because the former head of the Globes’ Hollywood Foreign Press Association allegedly groped him. Fraser first related this purported sexual assault to GQ in 2018, saying that Philip Berk, former president of the HFPA, groped him at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003. Berk is no longer an HFPA member, but Fraser’s feelings on the organization haven’t softened. “I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,” Fraser said. “My mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can c...
Darren Aronofsky Defends Putting Brendan Fraser in a Fat Suit for The Whale
Though Brendan Fraser is earning Oscar buzz for his portrayal of a 600-pound man named Charlie in The Whale, one of the major criticisms of the Darren Aronofsky film is that the actor had to wear a fat suit to portray his character. In an interview with Variety, the director defended his casting of Fraser instead of an obese actor, saying it was difficult to find someone who could pull off the role from an emotional perspective. Aronofsky also said it became “a crazy chase” to find an actor heavy enough for the role. “There was a chapter in the making of this film where we tried to research obese actors,” Aronofsky told Variety. “Outside of not being able to find an actor who could pull off the emotions of the role, it just becomes a crazy chase. Like, if you can’t find a 600-pound ac...
Brendan Fraser Calls Batgirl Cancellation “The Canary in the Coal Mine”
Brendan Fraser is basking in a career renaissance led by his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, but his turn as the villain Firefly in Batgirl sadly won’t be part of his comeback after Warner Bros. Discovery canceled the project for tax write-down purposes. In an interview with Variety, the actor called the decision “disappointing” while commenting on how it serves as an early warning sign that the film industry is in big trouble. “It’s disappointing. The fans really wanted to see this film made,” Fraser said. “The movie itself was shot and conceived for a smaller screen. In this age that we’ve come out of now between streaming service versus theatrical release, it wound up being the canary in the coal mine. So, what can we learn from this? Work with trusted filmmakers,...
Brendan Fraser Brought to Tears As The Whale Receives 6-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival: Watch
If the Venice Film Festival crowd’s reception to The Whale was any indication, Brendan Fraser’s long-deserved career comeback has advanced to the next (Oscar-buzzing) level. As Variety reports, the drama received a huge, six-minute standing ovation at the event, prompting Fraser to break down in tears. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and adapted from the play by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale follows Fraser’s Charlie, a gay man who leaves his family to be with another man. When his partner dies, Charlie is driven to compulsive eating and eventually reaches 600 pounds. The film centers on Charlie’s attempt to reconnect with estranged daughter, played by Sadie Sink. Clearly, The Whale is intense, and it’s proven to be the perfect vehicle for Fraser’s return to Hollywood. After ...
Warner Bros. Shelves Finished Batgirl Movie Despite $90 Million Price Tag
The Batgirl film set to star Leslie Grace, Michael Keaton, and Brendan Fraser has been scrapped by Warner Bros. Discovery, The Wrap reports. The DC Extended Universe movie was slated to stream on HBO Max, but it will no longer be released. Directed by Bad Boys for Life filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah from a script by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey, The Flash), Batgirl was filmed from November 2021 to March 2022 with a $90 million budget. Yet, despite COVID delays, reshoots, and all that money spent, Warner Bros. Discovery recently changed management, and the new studio heads decided the film simply didn’t work. Warner Bros. Discovery hopes to produce DC Extended Universe films fit for theatrical releases, and Batgirl — which would have been the firs...
Brendan Fraser Is a 600-Pound Man in First Look at Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale
Brendan Fraser is definitely going to make us cry in The Whale, Darren Aronofsky’s new film for A24. The movie will premiere at the Venice Film Festival August 31st to September 10th, and the first look photo reveals a haunted look in Fraser’s eyes to accompany his transformation into a 600-pound man. Based on the award-winning play by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale tells the story of a morbidly obese recluse attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter. He had abandoned his wife and family to live with another gay man, but after his partner’s death, his grief drove him to compulsive eating. “Adapting my play into a screenplay has been a real labor of love for me,” Hunter said to Deadline last year. “This story is deeply personal and I’m very thankful it will have t...
Brendan Fraser Cast as Villain Firefly in Batgirl Movie
The DC Extended Universe is at the forefront of the Fraserssance. Already with a starring role on Doom Patrol, Brendan Fraser has now joined the cast of Batgirl as the villainous Firefly (via Deadline). Fraser will face off against Leslie Grace as the title heroine in the upcoming HBO Max feature. Firefly, aka Garfield Lynns, is one of the most enduring members of the Bat-Family’s Rogues Gallery. He’s also a pretty straightforward bad guy, as far as the typical Gotham psychopaths are concerned: He’s a pyromaniac who uses a fireproof flight suit to zip around setting blazes with the attached flamethrower, napalm bombs, and in some instances even a superheated plasma sword. Batgirl is coming from Bad Boys for Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, with a script fr...
Doom Patrol Season 3 Trailer Introduces Michelle Gomez as Madame Rouge: Watch
HBO Max has unveiled the trailer for Season 3 of Doom Patrol, and it’s a trip. The clip kicks off with the arrival of Madame Rouge (Michelle Gomez), who introduces herself after burrowing up from below the street in her giant time machine. “Now here’s what I do know: I seem to have traveled here via time travel capsule,” she tells the ragtag group of superheroes at the center of the show. “I came here because something very big is set to occur, and it needs to be stopped.” That very bad things appears to be, as April Bowlby’s Rita Farr (a.k.a. Elasti-Girl) pieces together, is the Brotherhood of Evil — the group of supervillains from DC lore that have long been antagonists to the Doom Patrol. “They are coming for us! This is everyone’s problem,” Madame Rogue shouts emphatically later in the...
Brendan Fraser to Appear in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese’s upcoming movie Killers of the Flower Moon already had an undeniably stellar cast, but it just got even better because Brendan Fraser has been announced as a new addition. Fraser will appear in the new feature film alongside Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. Also rounding out the cast are fan favorite Jesse Plemons and real-life country rockers Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson. Scorsese’s movie will be a direct adaptation of David Grann’s true-crime thriller Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, the story revolves around the gristly murders of members of the Osage Nation, a group of people who became the richest folks in the world overnight when oil was found under their land. As the bodies began p...
Darren Aronofsky to Direct Brendan Fraser in New A24 Film The Whale
Brendan Fraser is once again set to play the role of a social recluse. As Discussing Film reports, the 52-year-old Blast from the Past actor has been tapped to star in The Whale, director Darren Aronofsky’s new film for A24. The Whale tells the story of a morbidly obese middle-aged man named Charlie (Fraser) and his efforts to rebuild a relationship with his teenage daughter. The father and daughter initially grew apart after Charlie chose to walk out on his family in order to pursue a gay lover. That partner eventually died, and Charlie sought comfort in food. Due to his compulsive eating, he eventually grew to weigh 600 pounds. The film is based on a play by Samuel D. Hunter. Also titled The Whale, since debuting Off-Broadway in 2012, the production has earned both the prestigious Drama ...
