Aronofsky’s film is sure to be awards bait for Fraser…
Brendan Fraser is set to star in The Whale, a new film by Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky. The upcoming film is based on the Samuel D. Hunter play of the same name that premiered off-Broadway back in 2012 and garnered critical acclaim with the Drama Desk Award and the Lucille Lortel Award.
The film adaptation will center on a reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption. Fraser will portray Charlie, the 600-pound, middle-aged gay man who can’t leave his apartment and is estranged from his 17-year-old daughter. Previously, Charlie had abandoned his family for his lover, who died, leading to overeating from grief.
“Adapting my play into a screenplay has been a real labor of love for me,” Hunter said in a statement to Deadline Hollywood, which was the first to report the news. “This story is deeply personal and I’m very thankful it will have the chance to reach a wider audience. I’ve been a fan of Darren’s ever since I saw Requiem for a Dream when I was a college freshman writing my first plays, and I’m so grateful that he’s bringing his singular talent and vision to this film.”
The Whale will be Aronofsky’s first movie since mother! (2017) with Jennifer Lawrence. Aronofsky is best known for Black Swan (the Natalie Portman-starring drama that earned him an Oscar nomination in 2011), The Wrestler (which won accolades for Mickey Rourke in 2008), and Requiem for a Dream (the psychological drama that saw Ellen Burstyn nominated for an Oscar in 2000).
Fraser was most recently seen in the F/X limited series Trust and the HBO Max series Doom Patrol.
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