The Whale director defends casting Brendan Fraser following criticism
The Whale hasn't even released to the general public yet, but it has already become one of the year's most discussed films.
That's down to Brendan Fraser's performance as main character Charlie, who is trying to reconnect with his daughter while grieving for his late boyfriend and battling a binge eating disorder.
The actor has been absent from the limelight for a while now, and his comeback performance has been marked for big success come awards season.
But it's not been without some backlash. The actor gained some weight for the role, but still used prosthetics and other film trickery to appear as severely obese as he does. Mean Girls actor Daniel Franzese questioned why an obese queer man wasn't cast.
Speaking to Variety, director Darren Aronofsky explained why he didn't cast an actor who was already that size.
"There was a chapter in the making of this film where we tried to research actors with obesity," he said. "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?
"From a health perspective, it’s prohibitive," he added, referring to the film's intense production. "It’s an impossible role to fill with a real person dealing with those issues."
Screenwriter Samuel D Hunter also touched on people interpreting the title to be an attack on overweight people, when it is a reference to how Moby Dick – the sperm whale who is the main antagonist in Herman Melville's 1851 novel of the same name – features heavily in the plot.
"The title deliberately pokes at some people’s prejudices. I wasn’t surprised by the blowback, because of the history of the way that obesity is treated on film. And we live in cynical and reactionary times," he said. "To be clear, this is not a story about everybody who grapples with obesity. It’s how it presented in me."
The Whale is set for release on December 9 in US cinemas. A UK release date has not been announced yet.
Beat (www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk) is a charity which raises awareness and understanding of eating disorders, and supports those affected by them. Beat now has a one-to-one secure messaging service. Its phone helpline for those aged 18 and over is 0808 801 0677, and there's also a dedicated Youthline for those under 18 – 0808 801 0711
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