Brendan Fraser brings the career-defining role of the American-Canadian actor to TIFF | CBC News

Call it a renaissance.

When director Darren Aronofsky was looking for an actor to play the lead role The whale — a film about a £600 recluse desperate to reconnect with an estranged daughter and heal from his traumatic history — he wasn’t really familiar with Brendan Fraser’s work.

Sure, the actor was one of the most recognizable leading men of the ’90s — think Encino man, school ties and George from the jungle – “But that was the generation after me, those movies,” Aronofsky told CBC’s Eli Glasner. “So I didn’t even know what his acting skills were.

“And then coincidentally… I was watching the trailer for a low-budget Brazilian movie in Portuguese and Brendan had a supporting role, and it was one of those aha moments. I just felt it.”

Fraser, a 53-year-old American-Canadian actor who spent his nomadic youth living with his family in Ottawa and Toronto, among other places, finds himself in The whale a potentially career-defining role after more than a decade of unremarkable performances and a string of injuries including multiple surgeries on his back, knees and vocal cords.

He stars alongside Sadie Sink, known for her role as Max on Netflix stranger things. Aronofsky called the 20-year-old actress a “banger.”

On Sunday’s TIFF red carpet, ahead of the film’s North American premiere, Fraser said he was blown away by Montreal costume designer Adrien Morot’s prosthetics.

“When I first saw his creation on a mannequin, I thought it was something on loan from the Tate Modern,” he told CBC’s Lisa Xing. “It was so eye-catching, so captivating. It’s almost like he did my job for me in so many ways because I just had to wear it to play a man so burdened by the trauma he’s feeling.”

The actor worked with the Obesity Action Coalition to ensure the issue was treated sensitively, he said. While not directly autobiographical, the story is based in part on the experiences of playwright Samuel D. Hunter.

“It’s set in my hometown of Idaho where, as a gay teenager, I went to a religious school that taught that homosexuality is a mortal sin,” said Hunter, who adapted his 2012 play for the screen.

“I started treating myself with food at an early age. I had to grow very tall,” the author added. “I mean, of course a lot of people are tall and happy and healthy, that’s just my story — nobody else’s … I was afraid to write it.

“I’m glad I didn’t know this was going to happen,” he added of the film’s star reception, “because I would have been too scared to write it, but I’m glad I did.” And I’m glad I got to give it to Brendan.”

The actor has a “Canadian goodness,” says the director

The actor has been greeted with a flood of support online and in real life, as seen in a recent viral video from the Venice International Film Festival, where he received a six-minute standing ovation The whaleworld premiere.

“There’s an underlying — let’s call it Canadian goodness — about Brendan that just resonates and enchants people,” Aronofsky said.

“Look, I haven’t really talked about it. But I had no idea how much love and goodwill I felt for Brendan when I began this process. That was not part of my calculation.”

But make no mistake: Fraser prefers to talk about the character rather than himself.

“Charlie is a man who lives with great regrets. He was alone in his two-room apartment, he experienced a lot of trauma in his life. And that shows in his need to eat to comfort himself to the extent that he wears it on his body,” said actor Glasner in an interview ahead of the film’s showing at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Fraser went on to say that he doesn’t identify with the character’s problems.

“As I was making this film, I felt that given the time it was being shot during lockdown – I think we all felt that this could be the very last time we’ll ever have the privilege of to do that kind of work.” he said.

“So there was a certain level of courage and dedication that we mustered every day. And we ended up caring a lot more about each other. And I think that really shows in the quality of the film.”