It appears Brendan Fraser left quite the impression during the premiere of his new movie,The Whale, on September 4. It appears that not only did the audience love the movie as a whole, but they also particularly lovedFraser’s performance as the film’s lead, and they let him know it too.
At the Venice Film Festival, audiences cheered followingThe Whale’s conclusion, but their roars became louder as Fraser stood up to acknowledge them. Fraser evidently appreciated the applause for his performance, as demonstrated by his reaction to all the cheers for his standout performance in the movie.
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At first, Fraser remained sitting, perhaps trying to avoid calling attention to himself and letting the audience cheer on the film and the cast as a whole. He was then goaded to stand up, so the audience could acknowledge specifically him and his performance. As Fraser listened to the cheers, he began to get emotional seeing how much the audience truly enjoyed his performance as the lead in his new film. Fraser has been away from movies for a long time now, so perhaps seeing audiences cheer him on in his latest film may serve as a shock to him, knowing how long it’s been since he was praised as the lead in a movie.
Fraser’s only just now getting back into the spotlight after being out of it for a while now. Fraser’s participated in more movies of late, playing roles in movies such asLine of DescentandNo Sudden Move. He did suffer a setback when Warner Brothers announced they were cancelingBatgirl, where he was cast as the film’s main villain, Firefly. However,The Whaleis getting very strong reception mainly due to Fraser’s performance as a 600-pound man who’s only starting to reconnect with his children after losing them some time ago. Fraser also got act next to Sadie Sink, who’s fresh offher standout performance inStranger Things4.
To be frank, Fraser definitely deserves everything that’s coming to him after what he’s been through since becoming an A-list actor. He bravely spoke out against the HFPA president who allegedly assaulted him, he suffered a very serious injury while performing his own stunts forThe Mummymovies, and he went through what appeared to be a pretty rough divorce. When Fraser started his comeback bid, it was clear the internet was behind given the popularity he garnered from the movies he starred in the 1990s and 2000s. It appears his comeback bid is now starting to bear fruit with his most recent performance inThe Whale.
What makes this even more heartwarming was before all the trials that he went through, Fraser wasn’t onewho typically made bids for Academy Awardswhen he was a top-billed actor. While not necessarily a bad actor, he wasn’t one that regularly appeared in dramas. He participated in a few, but not in ones that garnered unanimously positive reception, or if they did, it wasn’t his performance that got the movie the reception that it did. After audiences sawThe Whale, the narrative going around is that Fraser deserves a nomination for an Academy Award for his performance. If he gets one, it would be the cherry on what’s been a heartwarming comeback story.
The Whalewill be released in theaters on July 18, 2025.
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