Brendan Fraser Sobs During 6-Minute Standing Ovation for ‘The Whale’ During Venice Premiere

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was once known as the "People's Champ" in the wrestling ring. In his new world as one of the most highly coveted movie stars, he's recognized for having a heart of gold.  Johnson acknowledged Brendan Fraser's pivotal role in helping launch Johnson's Hollywood career while tweeting support for "The Whale" actor after a heartwarming moment caught on video. Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival following the movie's premiere Sunday.

Brendan Fraser gives a cheeky smile while arriving at JFK airport in New York City on Tuesday afternoon (September 6).

Brendan Fraser is back in the spotlight in a big way. Judging by the actor's reception at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, Fraser's stardom has rocketed back to its '90s and early aughts levels. The star of Darren Aronofsky's  was reportedly moved to tears during the film's standing ovation — said to last a whopping six minutes -- after its premiere on Sunday.In videos shared on social media, the 53-year-old performer was seen seated applauding his castmates before Aronofsky encouraged him to stand and accept the audience's praise.

Protect Brendan Fraser at all costs!

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off strong notices for Darren Aronofsky’s Venice Film Festival drama The Whale, Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has been tapped to star with Eric Bana (Munich) and Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049) in thriller Berlin Nobody, which got underway in the German capital today.

Zack Sharf When it comes to buzz emerging out of the 2022 Venice Film Festival, few actors dominated headlines as positively as Brendan Fraser. The actor is earning Oscar buzz and the best reviews of his career for his leading turn in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” The Venice audience at the film’s world premiere gave the movie a huge six-minute standing ovation. Fraser broke down in tears during the reception, a video of which shared by Variety co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh on Twitter has earned over 15.5 million views and counting. Dwayne Johnson, who co-starred with Fraser in 2001’s “The Mummy Returns,” celebrated “The Whale” standing ovation on social media and championed Fraser’s acting comeback.

standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival.Fraser, 53, broke down in happy tears on Sunday following a screening of his upcoming Darren Aronofsky movie, “The Whale.”His role as a 600-pound man in the drama has been widely praised before its official release later this year.Johnson, 50, tweeted a tribute to his friend on Sunday: “Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan.“He supported me coming into his ‘Mummy Returns’ franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career. Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky,” the former WWE star went on.Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Francesco Zippel’s Sergio Leone doc, which premieres on Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival, is the first portrait of the Italian master made with full support of his children Raffaella and Andrea. Titled “Sergio Leone: The Man Who Invented America,” the high-profile doc is premiering in the Venice Classics section for docs on cinema. It features an impressive list of voices holding forth on what makes Leone special for them. Among these are: Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Giuseppe Tornatore, Frank Miller, Darren Aronofsky, Damien Chazelle and Robert De Niro (see clip). But aside from Leone’s visionary talent as a director what emerges is that as his career escalated from the so-called “Dollars Trilogy” to “Once Upon a Time in the West” through to his final masterpiece, “Once Upon a Time in America,” Leone’s life was steeped in two inextricably linked passions: film and family. 

Colin Farrell received a 13-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival following the premiere of his new film The Banshees Of Inisherin.The actor reunited with his In Bruges co-star Brendan Gleeson and director Martin McDonagh for the upcoming drama about two Irish men whose life-long friendship is brought to an abrupt end.According to Variety, Farrell, Gleeson and McDonagh received the “longest and loudest reception” of any film yet to show at this year’s festival.However, the publication speculated that this was in response to Farrell, “who broke with tradition by wading into the crowd to take selfies with fans and sign autographs, which only made the cheering grow louder and more sustained”.Earlier at the festival, Brendan Fraser was moved to tears after receiving a six-minute standing ovation following the premiere of his new film The Whale.Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the film sees Fraser play a reclusive English teacher who lives with severe obesity. Stranger Things‘ Sadie Sink also stars, playing Fraser’s estranged teenager daughter.Following the film’s premiere over the weekend, footage emerged of the audience giving Fraser a rapturous reception.

Dwayne Johnson is sharing his support of Brendan Fraser, following the premiere of Brendan‘s latest movie, The Whale, during the 2022 Venice Film Festival over the weekend.

Brendan Fraser on Twitter, following the first screening of his new film The Whale. The psychological drama from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday (4 September).

The Whale at the Venice International Film Festival.The new film from Darren Aronofsky sees the actor play a reclusive English teacher who lives with life-threatening obesity.Since the film premiered over the weekend, footage has emerged of the audience giving Fraser a standing ovation, which reportedly lasted for six minutes. The star can also be seen to be tearful during the clip.The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay.

ACTRESS Phoebe Waller-Bridge shows why she is the darling of the fashion mags in a revealing black silk dress. The Fleabag creator, 37, was at the British Vogue Celebrates Vogue Darlings party at Venice Film Festival.

Brendan Fraser reveled in the spotlight once again at the Venice Film Festival and was praised for his role in the upcoming Darren Aronofsky movie, “The Whale.”The 53-year-old actor kept his best composure while walking the red carpet of the famed festival, only to break down in tears once inside the cinema as theatergoers gave the star a six-minute standing ovation for his performance, according to Variety.Fraser, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight after addressing physical ailments due to performing many of his own stunts on screen, was then also plagued by the mental repercussion of an alleged sexual assault incident that happened in 2003.He’s returning to the silver screen again for what many believe could be an Oscar contending role as Charlie, a 600-pound gay man who feels as though his life is coming to an end.Fraser was noticeably moved by the response to the film that he could barely stand up as the crowd cheered once the credits rolled when the movie was over in a video captured from inside the festival.“Brendan Fraser is back — and he sobbed during the #Venezia79 six-minute standing ovation for #TheWhale,” Ramin Setoodeh tweeted.He then added, “The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay.”During a pre-show interview with press, Fraser showed gratitude for “the warm reception” he’s received since discussing his latest work.“I’m looking forward to how this film makes a deep impression on everyone as much as it has on me,” he said, via The New York Times.Fraser recalled having to wear an extensive amount of prosthetics that sometimes weighed up to 300 pounds to play Charlie, a reclusive character based on the

Brendan Fraser reveled in the spotlight once again at the Venice Film Festival and was praised for his role in the upcoming Darren Aronofsky movie, "The Whale." The 53-year-old actor kept his best composure while walking the red carpet of the famed festival, only to break down in tears once inside the cinema as theatergoers gave the star a six-minute standing ovation for his performance, according to Variety. Fraser, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight after addressing physical ailments due to performing many of his own stunts on screen, was then also plagued by the mental repercussion of an alleged sexual assault incident that happened in 2003.

In a triumphant world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale received a seven-minute standing ovation inside the Sala Grande this evening. Star Brendan Fraser was visibly moved as he was embraced by his director while extended applause rang throughout the auditorium.

Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood at the 79th Venice Film Festival was met with many tears.

The stars are stepping out for the premiere of The Whale!

The Whale” at the Venice Film Festival is any indication, Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood will be met with plenty of cheers — and even more tears. When the credits rolled on the Darren Aronofsky drama, in which Fraser plays a 600-pound gay man confined to a wheelchair, the actor was overcome with emotion.Fraser sobbed throughout the six-minute standing ovation for the film, which will likely put him at the forefront of this year’s best actor Oscars race.Among those spotted inside the Sala Grande Theatre were Pheoebe Waller-Bridge, Nick Kroll and Hillary Clinton staffer Huma Abedin, who was seated a few rows behind Fraser and shed as many tears as he did. Many others inside the theater also broke out a handkerchief during the film’s heartbreaking final scenes.

Brendan Fraser suits up for the red carpet premiere of his new movie, The Whale, during the 2022 Venice Film Festival on Sunday (September 4) in Venice, Italy.

Darren Aronofsky loves reclaiming the broken, the damaged, the forgotten. Take his magnum opus, 2008’s “The Wrestler,” the story of an aging WWE entertainer who gives it all for one more shot at glory.

Venice Film Festival began in the Italian city on 31 August, attracting the great and the good from the film world. As the world’s longest-running film festival, it regularly attracts the crème de la crème of the industry, the most anticipated new movies, as well as some exceptional red carpet looks. This year will see the premiere of the long-awaited Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Gemma Chan, and directed by Olivia Wilde.

Who would have thought that, of all the top-shelf auteurs in Venice’s big comeback year, the most constrained would be Darren Aronofsky? His new competition film The Whale opens with that very intent — the screen is cropped to 1:33 — which turns out to be most appropriate for a small and intimate movie about a very big man.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic The return of Brendan Fraser — not that he ever really went away — has been a reminder of how much affection so many of us had for him back in the ’90s, when he had his moment in movies like “School Ties” and “Encino Man” and “Gods and Monsters” and “The Mummy.” Yet let’s be honest: This is not the comeback of John Travolta or Mickey Rourke. Fraser was always, in the best way, a lightweight actor: the clear blue eyes, the pin-up sexiness, the shaggy warm boyish innocence. The fact that, at 53, he’s no longer as beautiful as he once was is part of the Brendanaissance. He can no longer hold the screen as a cutie-pie hunk; he has to do it in other ways. And in “The Whale,” directed by Darren Aronofsky (who shepherded Rourke’s return in “The Wrestler”), Fraser is a better actor — slyer, subtler, more haunting — than he has ever been.

Brendan Fraser has played plenty of big-screen heroes, ranging from “George of the Jungle” to Rick O’Connell in “The Mummy” movies, yet he believes his latest role — a severely obese man in “The Whale” — may be the most heroic character he’s ever played.

By Crispian BalmerVENICE (Reuters) - U. S. actor Brendan Fraser, returning to the big screen as a leading man after a nine-year absence, said on Sunday playing the obese hero of "The Whale" was the biggest challenge of his career.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Brendan Fraser, the star of the Venice-premiering movie “The Whale,” says he needed to “learn how to move in a new way” in order to play his character Charlie, who weighs 600 lbs. Fraser takes on his most substantial role in a number of years with Darren Aronofsky’s latest, in which Charlie is slowly eating himself to death while struggling with congestive heart failure. An English teacher who holds online courses (with the camera off), Charlie eats to escape the pain of losing the love of his life, his former night-school student Alan, with whom he began a relationship after leaving his wife and then eight-year-old daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink). Over the course of a week, he tries to reconnect with Ellie.

Brendan Fraser says the role of dangerously obese teacher Charlie in the upcoming The Whale is “the biggest challenge” of his career.

Darren Aronofsky returns to the Venice Film Festival this year with his first movie since 2017’s “mother!,” “The Whale.” There’s plenty to celebrate about the upcoming film. It’s the first film by Aronofsky in five years, A24‘s introduction to the Lido, and the return of Brendan Fraser as a leading man.

Gregg Goldstein Since 2007, Venice’s Queer Lion Award has reflected and elevated the best in LGBTQ cinema. Fifteen years later, founder Daniel N. Casagrande said this year’s Venice Film Festival will be “the most queer edition ever.” Among the fest’s 30 LGBTQ-themed titles, 19 are competing for the Queer Lion, including a record six films from the main competition. They include Todd Field’s orchestra conductor drama “Tár,” starring Cate Blanchett; Darren Aronofsky’s estranged gay father study “The Whale,” featuring Brendan Fraser; Laura Poitras’ doc “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” chronicling bisexual artist Nan Goldin’s life and anti-opioid crusade; Andrea Pallaoro’s trans woman family drama “Monica”; Emanuele Crialese’s “L’immensità,” starring Penélope Cruz as the mother of a transgender child; and Gianni Amelio’s “Il signore delle formiche,” the true story of an Italian artist jailed under an infamous anti-gay law.

Brendan Fraser says transforming into a 600-pound man in "The Whale" took a major toll on him. Fraser, 53, plays Charlie, a reclusive English teacher nearing the end of his life. About a month into filming, the movie’s director, Darren Aronofsky, said that the actor was "all pedal and no gas." "I was feeling poorly — it would’ve been a failure," Fraser said in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Brendan Fraser is getting candid about his experience as an actor.

The BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its full list of titles, with the program comprised of 164 features and 23 world premieres across film and TV.

Brendan Fraser wanted to push his personal limits with his latest role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale”, playing as part of this year’s TIFF.