The Whale: Darren Aronofsky defends Brendan Fraser from fat suit criticism

Last Updated on December 14, 2022

One thing is certain, for a movie with very limited scenes revealed for promotion, there’s a ton of talk surrounding The Whale. One negative piece of attention that seems to have come from Brendan Fraser‘s casting is the notion that he had to wear a fat suit to portray an obese person, whereas those who have criticized this decision wonder why a genuinely obese person couldn’t be cast for the role with comments like, “Why go up there and wear a fat suit to play a 400-lb. queer man? Who knows more about being an obese queer man than an obese queer man?”

Darren Aronofsky, the renowned director helming the film, has responded to these critics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The publication reports that Aronofsky, “insists he didn’t see coming when he first cast Fraser in the part.” He also argues that “actors have been using makeup since the beginning of acting — that’s one of their tools.” The filmmaker adds, “And the lengths we went to portray the realism of the make-up has never been done before. One of my first calls after casting Brendan was to my makeup artist, Adrien Morot. I asked him, ‘Can we do something that’s realistic?’ Because if it’s going to look like a joke, then we shouldn’t do it.”

Aronofsky also lays to rest the concerns that obese people are portrayed as one-dimensional with their condition, “People with obesity are generally written as bad guys or as punchlines. We wanted to create a fully worked-out character who has bad parts about him and good parts about him; Charlie is very selfish, but he’s also full of love and is seeking forgiveness. So [the controversy] makes no sense to me. Brendan Fraser is the right actor to play this role, and the film is an exercise in empathy.”

Fraser has earned a bevy of praise for his portrayal from those who have viewed the film, and he has predictably been nominated for a Golden Globe, as previously announced. Fraser insists that he will not participate in the ceremony due to his traumatic sexual harassment experience with a high-level person in the Hollywood Foreign Press, and the HFPA did very little to reprimand the accused individual and even tried to get Fraser to sign off on a statement that would relieve the responsibility of any wrongdoing.

What do you think of Brendan Fraser wearing a fat suit to star in The Whale? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.