Last month, Darren Aronofsky‘s first film in five years, “The Whale,” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, with critics praising Brendan Fraser‘s performance as a 600-pound gay man. But EW reports (via an interview with Variety), that Aronofsky initially attempted to cast an obese actor in the part before going with Fraser. And since Fraser looks to be the Oscar Best Actor frontrunner at the moment, it’s fascinating that Aronofsky looked elsewhere for the role first.
“There was a chapter in the making of this film where we tried to research actors with obesity,” 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 actor, is a 300-pound actor or 400-pound actor enough?”
Aronofsky also said he had concerns about whether a 600-pound person could perform the role without their health issues getting in the way. “From a health perspective, it’s prohibitive,” the director continued. “It’s an impossible role to fill with a real person dealing with those issues.” In “The Whale,” Fraser plays Charlie, an obese gay man who struggles to reconnect with both his ex and his daughter in his last days. The film also stars Samantha Morton as Charlie’s ex, Sadie Sink as Ellie, his daughter, and Hong Chau as Liz, Charlie’s nurse and lifelong friend.
“The Whale” has fared well on the festival circuit since its premiere on the Venice Lido. Critics praise Fraser’s performance, giving the actor arguably the best reviews of her career, but reception is more muted on the film overall. The film hits theaters everywhere on December 9.