Brendan Fraser’s ‘The Whale’ Transformation Has Fans Floored

Brendan Fraser’s resurgence in Hollywood continues with his upcoming role in The Whale, the upcoming drama from director Darren Aronofsky. In the movie, Fraser, 53, plays a mourning 600-pound man who is attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter (played by Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink) after abandoning her and her mother years earlier. Fraser, who has dealt with weight issues in his past, put on some pounds for the role and then donned loads of prosthetics to play the role.

Earlier this week, A24 released the first image of Fraser as his character, Charlie. While the premise of the film has some worried the movie will be fatphobic, many are simply focused on the George of the Jungle and Gods and Monsters actor’s incredible transformation. Scroll through to read some of the reactions to the first photo.

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“What in the absolute f?” one fan wrote. “Is he for real or is that movie magic??”

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“I love #BrendanFraser and hope this movie does well and perhaps an Oscar nod!” one person tweeted. An Instagram user wrote, “Let The Brenaissance begin!”

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“I can’t wait to see Brendan in his new lead role,” another person wrote. “Teenage me is geeked.”

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“Glad to see Brendan Fraser a fellow Hoosier finally getting recognized for his comeback,” another person tweeted. “Dude has been killing it in Doom Patrol for a few years and has been taking on some fantastic roles even more recently.”

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“Brendan Fraser can start preparing a lot of variations of his speech because if it’s any good I think he’s sweeping all the way to the Oscars,” an excited fan wrote.

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“Could not be more interested or excited for this film,” yet another person wrote after seeing the photo. Yet another added, “WOW!!!! Can’t wait to see it on screen!!!!!”