The Brenaissance continues to burn brightly, with beloved actor Brendan Fraser set to add another award to his mantelpiece for his performance in the upcoming psychological drama, The Whale. Following quickly on from his TIFF Tribute Award victory, Fraser will be awarded the American Riviera Award at the 38th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The actor and star of The Mummy and No Sudden Move will then take part in an in-person conversation about his career.
"I’m so elated that we will be celebrating Brendan Fraser at SBIFF,” the Santa Barbara International Film Festival executive director Roger Durling said in a statement. “Here’s a performer who has brought us so much joy through the years, given us so many incredible cinematic memories, and now delivered the best performance of his career. We are thrilled to honor him."
Brendan Fraser is fast becoming an Academy Award favorite for his performance in The Whale, and this latest accolade is sure to keep that buzz humming nicely. The American Riviera Award has been awarded to several Oscar contenders over the years, including Kristen Stewart for Spencer, Renée Zellweger for Judy, Viggo Mortensen for Green Book, Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Patricia Arquette for her performance in Boyhood.
Fraser was recently awarded the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance at the Toronto International Film Festival, with the actor brought to tears following a 6-minute standing ovation for The Whale after its premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival back in September.
The Whale is Due for Release in December
Based on the 2012 play by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale will find Brendan Fraser leading the latest outing from Darren Aronofsky as Charlie, a 600-pound middle-aged man who tries to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter. The two have grown apart after Charlie abandoned his family for his gay lover, who later died, which led to Charlie binge-eating out of pain and guilt.
According to Fraser himself, The Whale will reintroduce Brendan Fraser to audiences, with the actor wanting to see what he is capable of. “He said he wanted an actor to reintroduce,” Fraser said of director Darren Aronofsky’s intention with The Whale. “And I wanted to be reintroduced. I wanted to know what I was capable of.”
Fraser will be transformed into Charlie thanks to a combination of elaborate and naturalistic prosthetics, an approach that has already been met with some criticism. Charlie has been created by the Oscar-nominated Adrien Morot, who specializes in digital makeup effects and is a long-time collaborator of Darren Aronofsky. Efforts were made “to ensure an empathetic, realistic transformation,” which included working closely with the Obesity Action Coalition.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale stars Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins alongside Brendan Fraser with Sadie Sink, who is best known for starring in Netflix’s Stranger Things and the Fear Street trilogy, starring as Ellie, Charlie's daughter.
The Whale premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2022, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on December 9, 2022, by A24.