The Whale: Brendan Fraser speaks on his new dramatic role in the upcoming Darren Aronofsky film

Brendan Fraser has been shown an overwhelming amount of support for a comeback since his blockbuster career fizzled with movies like Furry Vengeance and Extraordinary Measures. He’s been getting acclaim for his performance in the DC show Doom Patrol, and now he looks to make a triumphant return to movies in the new Darren Aronofsky film, The Whale. The Whale is a relatively straightforward tale about an online English teacher who lives as a recluse with life-threatening obesity and needs to find closure with his estranged daughter.

Fraser recently spoke with Vanity Fair about his dramatic transformation (in more ways than one). The actor tells of Aronofsky’s choice to cast him, 

He said he wanted an actor to reintroduce. And I wanted to be reintroduced. If there’s no risk, then why bother? I want to learn from the people I’m working with at this point in my career. 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 unrecognizable. I wanted to know what I was capable of.”

The film is based on the play written by Samuel D. Hunter. Aronofsky had first watched the play back in 2012 and was moved by it instantly. Aronofsky would reach out to Hunter for a film adaptation, and Hunter began to work on a screenplay. Except, the duo had trouble envisioning who would take on the lead role. “I thought about every movie star playing Charlie, and it never made sense or clicked,” Aronofsky says. 

He then adds about Charlie’s obesity portrayal in the film, “Unfortunately, so many characters portrayed in the media who are living with obesity are treated awfully—either they’re humiliated, made fun of, or just living in squalor. That was never Charlie. Obesity is just part of what Charlie is. After 10 minutes of spending time with Charlie, that’s the breakthrough that we hope the film has [for viewers].”

The Whale will be screening at the Venice Film Festival and at TIFF, then will be released in theaters on December 9.

What do you think? Are you anticipating Fraser’s comeback?