There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the upcoming release of The Whale after it made waves in the film festival scene, but there are some who have “conflicted” thoughts about the film. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Black Swan), the film stars Brendan Fraser in what some are saying could be his most compelling role yet. In the movie, Fraser plays a 600-pound gay man hoping to reconnect with his teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) after abandoning his family many years prior.
With the early reviews for The Whale, there has been some Oscar buzz for Fraser with some feeling the role could earn him a Best Actor nomination. Speaking about the film in a new interview with People, actor Daniel Franzese (Looking, Mean Girls) commented that he had mixed thoughts about Fraser’s casting. While he “loves” Fraser, Franzese can’t help but feel that The Mummy star’s casting has taken away an opportunity from “actors like me and my colleagues.” As Franzese puts it:
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Franzese goes on to praise Aronofsky as one of his favorite directors, but at the same time, the actor feels slighted that he couldn’t have had the chance to read for that role. He also criticizes the use of a fat suit, which has come under fire in other projects as of late as well.
The actor also suggests that one reason why more openly gay actors aren’t tested for main roles in situations like this is that it would make the movie harder to sell in some international markets.
Darren Aronofsky Spent Years Looking for His Lead Star in The Whale
A24
The Whale was a project Aronofsky had in the works for about a decade. All throughout that time, the filmmaker had great trouble in settling on the right actor for the lead role. Speaking about Fraser’s casting in a previous Variety interview, Aronofsky says he had thought of pretty much every actor in Hollywood, but nobody felt right until he just so happened to see a trailer featuring Fraser.
The Whale will be hitting movie theaters on Dec. 9, 2022, via A24.
