Brendan Fraser feared he might miss his big return role because he caught Covid right before production began.
Brendan Fraser’s leading role in The Whale has undoubtedly aided his return.
The actor claims he was worried he might have to drop out of the film after being sick with Covid right before production was set to begin on the Darren Aronofsky film.
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The reviews for The Whale have been all over the place, but everyone can agree that Brendan Fraser’s performance is the film’s high point, and he is a serious Oscar contender.
During an in-depth interview with GQ, Fraser revealed that he was terrified of losing his role in The Whale and maybe losing his life after catching Covid shortly before filming was set to begin.
To quote what he had to say:
“I thought I was gonna lose my job. I thought I was gonna f**king die too, but I thought, I know how these things go. The bonding company will go ooh and back out. Or I won’t pass an insurance checkup.”
Unfortunately, Fraser wasn’t so fortunate on either count, and the fears brought on by his diagnosis were unwarranted.
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It would have been terrible for Fraser’s career if he had lost his position in The Whale and then had the cancellation of Batgirl take away another of his comeback performances.
Nonetheless, it appears all worked out in the end since Aronofsky delayed filming to allow Fraser time to heal and even sent the actor a care package.
Fraser’s casting as the Whale has drawn some criticism. Nonetheless, Brendan Fraser’s performance as the lead in The Whale is undeniably moving and impressive.
Nonetheless, there have been others who have been quick to condemn the film for casting a heterosexual guy in a fat costume to impersonate a 600-pound gay man.
In response, Darren Aronofsky explained why choosing an actor who looked and acted like the real-life subject of The Whale was difficult. Formerly, he had stated:
“There was a chapter in the making of this film where we tried to research actors with obesity. 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. It’s an impossible role to fill with a real person dealing with those issues.”
The general opinion is that Fraser may not be the correct sexual orientation or weight for the character, but his performance more than makes up for it.
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The actor’s performance in The Whale has garnered him critical acclaim and award nominations, and it could be the beginning of one of the most remarkable comebacks in film history.
After several years out in the spotlight, it’s great to see Fraser regaining his star power with a string of high-profile parts currently in production.
