Brendan Fraser, who stars in The Whale, defends Darren Aronofsky’s latest picture against popular hatred. The Whale’s leading actor Fraser argues in favor of the Oscar-nominated movie against “Fat Phobia” accusations and the use of a fat suit that is typically associated with the comic book industry.
Brendan Fraser responds to The Whale’s fat phobia allegations
“I respect those who don’t see eye to eye with the aims of this film,” Fraser told the LA Times. “I don’t agree with them because I know that there’s no ill intent. I know I want to know if I, me, Brendan, have done any harm. But the answer I got from the (Obesity Action Coalition) was, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’ We made the movie we wanted to make, and we made it correctly. And I stand by that.”
Fraser stated that he declined to label the prosthetics he donned for the movie as a Fatsuit. “Putting an actor in a costume and apparatus to emulate weight gain for the character has, in years, cut the corner on authenticity,” he said. “It’s normally the silhouette of a costume that’s worn by a fairly athletic actor, and it’s in service of a cheap joke or to vilify a character.”
Fraser for The Whale partnered with the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) to better understand society’s prejudices and attitudes towards obese people.
“It’s evident to me that the way that we speak about one another with regard to obesity has to change because it’s the last domain of accepted bigotry and prejudice,” he said. “It’s time to retire that, so long as we’re doing so much and making such good progress in so many areas of our culture that I think that it is hopefully the last one we can tick off the box.”
About The Whale
The Whale features the Oscar-nominated performance of Fraser and revolves around the story of Charlie, a solitary and overweight English teacher weighing 600 pounds, who longs to reunite with his estranged daughter, played by Sadie Sink from “Stranger Things.”
Fraser’s portrayal of Charlie has created a lot of buzz for the upcoming Academy Awards, and he has remarked that the character’s design adhered to the laws of physics and gravity, preferring not to call the outfit he wore for the role a “fat suit.”
via – CBR
