In late July, A24 stunned moviegoers by releasing the first look at Brendan Fraser in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” In the drama, adapted from Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, Fraser wears up to 300 pounds of prosthetics to play a man suffering from severe obesity. According to a new Vanity Fair report, Fraser’s prosthetics were created by Adrien Morot, who collaborated with the director on “Noah” and also worked on “The Revenant” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Morot created Fraser’s prosthetic suit for “The Whale” using a digital sculpture and a 3D printer.
“I looked at other body suits that had been used in comedies over the years, usually for a one-note joke,” Fraser said of the suit in an interview with Vanity Fair. “Whether meant or not, the joke is that it defies gravity.” That was not the case.”
The prosthetic suit was “beautiful and arresting,” according to Fraser, but wearing it on set each day was a different story. “The torso piece was almost like a straight jacket with sleeves that went on, airbrushed by hand, to look identical as would human skin, right down to the hand-punched hair,” the actor said of his “The Whale” character’s transformation.
According to Vanity Fair, “Fraser carried anywhere from 50 to 300 extra pounds during filming, depending on the scene’s contents; Charlie is also severely limited in mobility.” (There were always people around to help Fraser stand up, sit down, and wheel him across the 70 or so steps between the studio and the makeup room.) At the start of production, Fraser would spend five to six hours per day in a makeup chair to become Charlie; by the end, they had reduced that hour count to two to three.”
To prepare for “The Whale,” Fraser collaborated with the Obesity Action Coalition and spoke with people who had undergone bariatric surgery. “I quickly learned that being that person requires an incredibly strong person inside that body,” the actor said. “That seemed fitting, poetic, and practical all at the same time.”
“Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins star alongside Fraser in “The Whale.” Matthew Libatique, Aronofsky’s longtime cinematographer, returns. The film will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and will also be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
“The Whale” will be released in theatres on December 9th by A24.
