Page 88 - Sharp Winter 2023

THE COMEBACK
ONCE-MALIGNED COMEDY ACTOR BRENDAN FRASER RETURNS WITH THE WHALE — AND SERIOUS OSCAR POTENTIAL
By Rick Mele
I T’S GOOD TO SEE BRENDAN FRASER AGAIN. NOT THAT HE EVER went anywhere — not really. Still, his latest film, The Whale, is being positioned as the actor’s big comeback.
There are admittedly few glaring gaps on Fraser’s IMDb. He’s been working steadily in recent years, showing up in DC’s cult hit Doom Patrol, on season three of The Affair, and playing against type in Steven Soderbergh’s 2021 crime drama No Sudden Move.
It’s only compared to his ten-year run from the mid-’90s to the early 2000s — when Fraser was seemingly everywhere, leveraging his action-hero looks and good-natured charm to become one of
Hollywood’s go-to leading men — that the absence seems more pointed. All those stunt-heavy blockbusters, as well as a traumatic encounter with the former head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,
exacted a toll, leading Fraser to retreat from the spotlight.
He’s firmly back in it now, thanks to The Whale, Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s off-Broadway play. It has Fraser in the thick of the Oscar hunt, and on the receiving end of an outpouring of love from all corners of the industry. In the film, Fraser plays Charlie, a reclusive English teacher struggling with obesity and attempting
to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
After the film’s Venice premiere, footage of a teary-eyed Fraser
receiving a six-minute standing ovation went viral. At one point, he’s shown trying to leave, overwhelmed, which only makes the crowd cheer harder. Fraser calls the ensuing response – not just from the media and fans, but his industry peers as well — supportive. His Mummy Returns co-star Dwayne Johnson tweeted heartfelt congratulations. So did Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who’d worked with Fraser on a 2015 History Channel mini-series.
“My phone had green smoke coming out the side of it after the screening in Venice,” Fraser says, speaking in Toronto a few days later. “I’m pleased now that I can get back in touch with people who I haven’t been in touch with for so long. And for such a happy, good reason.” Another lengthy ovation in Toronto followed soon after, along with a TIFF Tribute Award — his first, but assuredly not last, trophy for The Whale.
It’s hard not to root for the 53-year-old actor, who doesn’t seem too far off from the sincere, kind-hearted nice guy he’d made a living out of playing on-screen. He’s thoughtful with his answers, choosing his words with care as he absent-mindedly plays with the ring on his
IMAGES COURTESY OF A24
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