Brendan Fraser is earning an enormous amount of applause for his role as a 600-pound man in “The Whale.”
The 53-year-old actor — who is currently enjoying a career resurgence after some time away from the spotlight — revealed if he would ever go through a bodily transformation for another role.
“I think it’s one of the more exacting ways you can create a character and body,” he explained to People at the New York City premiere of the drama earlier this week.
He added that he would “absolutely” transform himself for a new project if needed.
In Darren Aronofsky’s drama, Fraser portrays a depressed, gay, obese man named Charlie who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. In order to portray the role, the “Mummy” alum sported prosthetics.
He noted that there was also a “mandate that Charlie’s costume would respect the laws of gravity and physics, as opposed to the many ways that we’ve seen that character depicted in films before as really a one-note joke, and in a costume that’s just unfair.”
Fraser said that perspective was “a personal view” but added that the filmmakers “felt an obligation to ensure that it was cumbersome. It was accurate — that was what we strived for.”
However, Fraser and “The Whale” have been criticized for not using a plus-sized performer in the film and instead opting for the Canadian native to don the fat suit.
Film critic Katie Rife went viral in September for advising overweight viewers — and those who are of a thinner frame — not to watch the drama.
“I can’t recommend in good conscience that fat people watch ‘The Whale,’” Rife tweeted at the time. “I can’t recommend that skinny people watch it either, since it reinforces the notion that fat people are objects of pity who have brought their suffering upon themselves through lack of coping skills.”
Rife continued by additionally cautioning moviegoers with eating disorders: “Massive red flags for EDs and fatphobia; the main character endures over an hour of the cruelest verbal abuse imaginable, and later tries to commit suicide by food. I have dealt with bulimia and binge eating disorder on and off for years, and found it incredibly triggering.”
She also claimed “no actually fat peoples were involved in the production,” as there is a point in the plot where the “protagonist is dying, but refuses to go to the hospital even though he has money to pay the bills.”
“The Whale” opens in theaters on Dec. 9.