Having already scooped the Toronto International Film Festival TIFF Tribute Award for his performance in the film – seen as a pretty influential gong ahead of Oscar nominations – Fraser was overwhelmed by excited fans on the red carpet on Sunday, as well as the reception The Whale received at its first screening.
The Darren Aronofsky flick sees the 53-year-old play a reclusive English teacher who is battling with a compulsive eating disorder and trying to rebuild his relationship with estranged teenage daughter, Elle (Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink).
The dramedy is based on the play by Samuel D Hunter and has already caused a stir with its transformation of Fraser into a 600 pound man, as well as celebration over the Fraserenaissance, which is showing no sign of slowing down.
Variety’s co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh posted footage from after the film’s finish in Venice, which showed director Aronofsky congratulating his team with hugs as the clapping continued, before encouraging Fraser to rise to his feet and soak up the congratulations.
‘The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay,’ he added 15 minutes later, with a second clip of Fraser.
After Aronofsky gently touched him on the shoulder and gestured for him to move to a more central spot in the auditorium, where he took a grateful bow.
Smiling and nodding bashfully, the Mummy star was trying to hold back the tears as he did a jokey ‘aw shucks’ leg kick in a video that’s been viewed over six million times.
Dwayne Johnson picked up on the video too, retweeting it and adding his delight at Fraser’s success.
‘Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan,’ the former WWE megastar wrote. ‘He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career.’
‘Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky,’ he added.
The reviews out of the world premiere for The Whale so far are mixed, but many critics agree that Fraser’s turn is a homerun, with the BBC’s Nicholas Barber declaring that he ‘richly deserves to be nominated for a best actor Oscar’, while The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin in his five-star review calls his performance ‘actually something far rarer and more wonderful’ than a mere ‘Oscar-grab’.
The Whale’s US release is scheduled for December 9, with a UK date yet to be announced.
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