Don’t blame Brendan Fraser for The Whale’s crass fatphobia
The IndependentSign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Darren Aronofsky’s mawkish Oscar-bait drama – starring Brendan Fraser as a morbidly obese man reeling from the death of his partner – seemed to break all the rules of contemporary good taste. Yet while The Whale’s Best Picture hopes may have been beached by its polarised reception, Fraser’s own reputation has emerged from the film unscathed – and arguably even bolstered. It’s not necessarily that actors like Fraser are sitting down and cynically picking the sort of plum body-altering roles that are most likely to yield Oscar gold. It surely stems from the same sort of process-oriented self-seriousness as Method acting – or what people on social media might refer to as “a case of ‘Actor Brain’”.
History of this topic
Brendan Fraser wins best actor Oscar, capping a ‘Whale’ of a comeback
LA Times
The Whale director Darren Aronofsky reveals why he cast Brendan Fraser and responds to accusations of fatphobia
ABC
The Whale review: A searing drama with a heartrending Brendan Fraser
Live Mint
The Whale: Man defends Brendan Fraser film after describing weight gain experience
The Independent
The Whale movie review: Brendan Fraser comeback is grossly manipulative to an effective degree
The Independent
Brendan Fraser says wearing ‘extensive prosthetics’ for The Whale showed him ‘strength’ of obese people
The Independent
The Whale director Darren Aronofsky says fatphobia criticisms ‘make no sense’
The Independent
Brendan Fraser Says Extreme Diet For Role Made His Brain 'Misfire'
Huff Post
Brendan Fraser on ‘The Whale’: I gave it everything I had every day
The Hindu
The Whale: Brendan Fraser deserves the Oscar, but the movie? Yikes.
Slate
Darren Aronofsky defends his decision to cast Brendan Fraser in ‘The Whale’
LA Times
Brendan Fraser Responds To Backlash Over Wearing Fat Suit In ‘The Whale’
Huff Post
The Whale: Brendan Fraser career timeline: From Nineties icon to the ‘Brenaissance’
The Independent
Brendan Fraser sobs as The Whale gets 6-min standing ovation in Venice. Watch
Hindustan Times
The Whale review: 'Brendan Fraser deserves an Oscar'
BBC
Brendan Fraser in ‘The Whale’ stokes fans for his comeback: ‘Get that man an Oscar!’
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