These days, there’s something subtly heartbreaking about seeing Brendan Fraser enter a room. It’s not his appearance, but rather the length of time it took for the room to notice him once more. In the summer of 2022, when A24 unveiled the first picture of Fraser in Darren Aronofsky’s film The Whale, people’s jaws dropped online. Almost instantly, a legitimate question emerged. Was it something else entirely, or did Brendan Fraser really put on weight for The Whale?
The truthful response lies in the middle of the two. In real life, Fraser gained about 25 pounds, according to most accounts, and he has talked candidly about how his body changed over time as a result of several surgeries necessary after physically taxing stunt work on movies like George of the Jungle and The Mummy. He had back surgery and a partial knee replacement as a result of those productions, and he claimed that the weight that followed was partially due to the physical toll. He wasn’t starting from scratch when he took on the role of Charlie, a 600-pound man who slowly eats himself to death in an Idaho apartment.
However, the majority of the change, including the folds, the mass, and the audience’s gasping physical presence, came from somewhere else. Fraser’s suit was constructed using a digital sculpture created from a 3D scan of the actor’s body by prosthetics designer Adrien Morot, who had previously collaborated with Aronofsky on Noah and brought the same compulsive craft to The Revenant and X-Men: Days of Future Past. After printing and hand-finishing, the final product was airbrushed to resemble human skin, complete with punched-in hair follicles. The torso piece felt almost like a straitjacket, according to Fraser. He described it as both extremely uncomfortable and beautiful.
Fraser was carrying an extra 50 to 300 pounds, depending on the scene being filmed. It took a full team to get him in and out of the suit; several people were always there to assist him with standing, sitting, and walking the roughly seventy steps between the makeup room and the studio. The daily makeup procedure alone took five to six hours at the start of production. The crew was able to reduce it to two or three by the end of the shoot. Even before the cameras begin to roll, that is an incredible physical commitment.
This is all made more complex by the cultural dialogue that the movie delves into. Like many in that community, Aubrey Gordon, a writer and podcaster whose work focuses on fat acceptance, had been looking forward to the movie with a kind of tired dread. Her issue wasn’t with Fraser specifically, but rather with the notion that a thin actor using prosthetics to depict extreme obesity was being hailed as a significant artistic achievement, whereas the same narrative applied to fat actors typically elicits very different industry enthusiasm. The film’s positive reviews didn’t entirely ease the tension.
Fraser entered the stage at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere to thunderous applause, and by most accounts, he appeared genuinely moved—possibly taken aback—by the warmth shown to him. By then, rumors about his past had been going around for years. The GQ profile for 2018. Philip Berk, the former president of the HFPA, is accused. The years of diminished prominence and smaller roles. There’s a feeling that some of the applause was directed at Charlie and some at Fraser for returning at all and in this manner.
He won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. The Academy made its stance known regardless of whether viewers fully understood the prosthetics controversy. It was difficult not to feel that something truly earned was being acknowledged as you watched Fraser accept that award, clearly moved by the complex machinery that had made it possible.
FAQs
1. Did Brendan Fraser actually gain weight for The Whale?
He gained roughly 25 pounds personally, with prosthetics adding the rest.
2. How long did Brendan Fraser spend in makeup each day?
Initially five to six hours, later reduced to two or three.
3. Who designed the prosthetic suit Fraser wore in The Whale?
Adrien Morot, who also worked on The Revenant and X-Men.
4. How much extra weight did the prosthetics add to Fraser?
Between 50 and 300 additional pounds, depending on the scene.
5. Did Brendan Fraser win any award for his role in The Whale?
Yes, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2023.
