Brendan Fraser’s ‘The Whale’ Prosthetics Gave Him Vertigo
Over the years, Brendan Fraser has been in his fair share of Hollywood flicks. One of Fraser’s most memorable roles came in 1997 when he starred in George of the Jungle.
The Mummy, Crash, and Extraordinary Measures are just a few of the noteworthy titles the actor has appeared in throughout his career. However, more recently, it is Fraser’s role in The Whale that has just about everyone talking.
Brendan Fraser’s role in the upcoming movie ‘The Whale’
Though it hasn’t premiered to the public yet, The Whale seems like it is going to be a smashing success. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, The Whale revolves around a withdrawn English teacher who desperately wants to reconnect with his estranged and distanced daughter.
Brendan Fraser was the talented actor cast to take on the part of the reclusive and obese teacher. Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton were a few of the other stars cast to act alongside Fraser in The Whale.
Fraser’s character’s raw emotion seems to spur his journey for redemption and wrap the viewers in. The Whale is slated to premiere in December, and many are looking forward to the debut and seeing Fraser in action.
Brendan Fraser’s transformation for ‘The Whale’ and the effect it had on him
In The Whale, Charlie, Brendan Fraser’s character, struggles with his weight. In advertisements and promotional videos for The Whale, it became apparent that Fraser’s new role required him to transform.
Interested viewers and fans may have speculated that he decided to put additional weight on for the role, but it was actually an incredibly convincing prosthetic. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Fraser opened up about the suit behind the transformation and the tedious process of getting it on.
The actor revealed that the cumbersome suit took hours to get on and involved a fair amount of airbrushing. Once Fraser was in the prosthetic, he admitted that he often had difficulty standing up and sitting down. However, taking the cake, was the vertigo Fraser ended up with when he removed the suit after filming.
The extreme weight discrepancy would cause the Hollywood movie star to go into dizzy spells. After all, the movie prop did add an extra three hundred pounds to the actor. Talk about uncomfortable and inconvenient.
Though it seemed far from ideal, the unusual circumstances testify to Fraser’s commitment to the role and his craft. Kate Winslet, Rainn Wilson, and Jennifer Lawrence were just a few of the many other dedicated actors featured alongside Fraser in BuzzFeed‘s “28 Actors Who Were Forced To Change Up Their Look For A TV Show Or Movie And Ended Up With Some Very Unwanted Consequences”.
Fraser received a tremendous amount of praise for his role in the 2002 film ‘The Whale’
Even though The Whale doesn’t premiere in America until December, through renowned film festivals, many critics and fellow stars in the entertainment industry have had the privilege of viewing the emotionally enthralling movie.
At one viewing during the Venice Film Festival, when The Whale concluded, the audience erupted into a six-minute standing ovation. The powerful and emotional applause brought Brendan Fraser to tears.
This past August, it was announced that Fraser would be honored with this year’s TIFF Tribute Award. The Whale definitely doesn’t seem like a movie film fanatics will want to miss. Not to mention, Dwayne Johnson, Fraser’s former co-star, has already given the movie a glowing review.
