Brendan Fraser says his new film made him realise how 'incredibly strong' obese people are.
The Whale sees the actor play the role of a severely overweight man who tries to reconnect his teenage daughter after having left his family for a gay lover.
Protagonist Charlie, who loses his partner, then spirals into the depths of depression and binge eating.
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Speaking about his preparation for the role, Fraser said it gave him a deeper understanding of what overweight people have to go through.
He said: "It gave me an appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. I learned that you need to be an incredibly strong person, physically, mentally, to inhabit that being.
"Charlie’s physical mobility is limited to his home space, which is his couch. His story is told behind closed doors. He’s a light in a dark space. I think it’s poetic that the trauma he carries is manifest in the physical weight of his body.
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"I needed to learn to absolutely move in a new way. I developed muscles I did not know I had. I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed, as you’d feel stepping off a boat on to the dock here in Venice."
The film marks Fraser's return to major films and has led to many predicting he will win a fair few awards for his performance.
But the Mummy star said it was one of the most difficult roles of his career.
He said: "I looked different in those [George of the Jungle] days. My journey to where I am now has been to explore as many characters as I can, and this presented the biggest challenge to me.
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"By far I think that Charlie is the most heroic man I have ever played, because his superpower is to see the good in others, and bring that out in him. In that process he’s on his journey of salvation."
Speaking about the project last year, Fraser promised fans that it would be a special film.
He told Newsweek: "It’s gonna be like something you haven’t seen before. That’s really all I can tell you…The wardrobe and costume was extensive, seamless, cumbersome.
"This is certainly far removed from anything I’ve ever done but not to be coy... I do know it’s going to make a lasting impression."
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Co-star Sadie Sink, who plays his 17-year-old daughter Ellie in the movie, said Fraser was her 'favourite human'.
She told Vanity Fair: "I don't think I'd ever done a project that had that much character work.
"[Director] Darren Aronofsky is obviously brilliant, and working with him was a really formative experience, and Brendan is so incredible in it, and also just probably my favourite human on the planet.
"It was so amazing having that experience with him. I learned a lot about myself as an actress, and tapped into a side of things that I hadn't really explored before."
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Topics: Entertainment