Brendan Fraser recently discussed the Oscar buzz surrounding his performance in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale and reconnecting with Leonardo DiCaprio.
"I owe it to myself. I owe it to the filmmakers," he told GQ of running for awards this season after quickly becoming an Oscars frontrunner following a rapturous reception to his new movie. "I know I owe it to those fans who paid to come and see me and stand in line in the sun and, you know, all of that," he continued. "I owe it to my kids. This is my shot."
The Whale follows Charlie (Fraser), a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity, who attempts to reconnect with his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) after having left his family for a man who later died. The film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, where it was met with a six-minute standing ovation. It screened again at London Film Festival and was met with a five-minute standing ovation.
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Fraser's also ser to star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's upcoming drama Killers of the Flower Moon. Production on the movie marked the first time Fraser had gotten to chat with DiCaprio in person for the first time since Dicaprio was "17, 16 maybe" and the actor was starring in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
"I think I had just been in School Ties or something then, and I was, like, flummoxed but I just wanted to tell him, Hear, hear. That was incredible," Fraser explained. "And he repeated that to me. He remembered me. He said: 'You were the only guy who didn’t treat me like a little kid. He volunteered that to me. That was meaningful."
Fraser added that he "doesn't know" if The Whale is going to change his entire life, but that he's proud of the film and the work he's done. "It's enough," he said. "It’ll live on long after me. And that’s good. The other stuff, maybe not so much. That’ll live on too, but... I think I just have to live for what’s happening for me now."
The Whale is set to hit theaters on December 9, 2022. For more, check out our list of the best new movies in 2022 and beyond.
