Brendan Fraser reveals real reason behind Darren Aronofsky casting him in 'The Whale'

Brendan Fraser. Pic/AFP

Oscar winner actor Brendan Fraser shared the real reason behind filmmaker Darren Aronofsky casting him as Charlie in the 2022 psychological drama film 'The Whale', according to The Hollywood Reporter.

During an informal conversation at the Red Sea Film Festival, he shared, "He was looking for an actor who hadn't been seen in a while. He told me. And that was me. He wanted to reintroduce that actor through a performance that would be transformative and have an element of this is the last person you might expect to do this role."

And that was great with Fraser, who said that he was pleased with the "Brenaissance" memes to highlight one of Hollywood's most spectacular career comebacks. "Yes, look at me," he exclaimed from the stage of Old Town Al-Balad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Fraser noted he prefers to consider his hiatus from Hollywood before his involvement in The Whale as a mid-career time off rather than a slump.

"Taking a break is important in any line of work. In my career, it's been a trajectory that's been like a roller coaster loop. It's up, it's down, it's sideways. It's in the dark. It's thrilling," he added.

Fraser insists he made good use of the downtime. "I used the time to have a retrospection to think from within, so I could do The Whale," he revealed, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

That career break came after a rapid climb in Hollywood, which began with his starring part in 'Encino Man' in 1992.

"To be recognized and noticed that early definitely allowed me to have access to other projects," Fraser said as agents, directors and producers suddenly noticed his rising star.

Then, in 1997, he achieved his success with 'George of the Jungle,' which made him a Hollywood star in the real sense. "It was exciting, then. I didn't like the working out part, though. That hurt. I had to do that frequently," Fraser added.

"What you think you're going to do, and what you create and what turns out are vastly different things. When that film came out, it had a broad international appeal and a lot of monkeys," he recalled.

Success with 'The Whale' included a memorable world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, "It was my first time to Venice, and I had not seen the film in its entirety, fully locked down. I knew that the message behind it was either going to resonate and get people to really reevaluate the thing we think we really know when we judge the people we love, or it could be infinitely forgettable. And the stakes are often one or the other," said Frasier, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Red Sea Film Festival continues through December 14.

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