Actor Brendan Fraser has said that playing a morbidly obese man taught him that people with similar bodies are “incredibly” stronger mentally and physically.
The Vale, the first scene of the tournament Venice Film Festival On Sunday, it has already created buzz with speculation that it could be on its way to an Oscar win.
Movement Darren AronofskyWinner of the festival’s Golden Lion in 2008 for The Wrestler, based on the play of the same name by Samuel de Hunter, it follows the story of Charlie – who tries to reconnect with the people he’s separated from at the end of his life. Teenage daughter’s last chance for redemption.
Fraser — a ’90s megastar and largely absent from the best projects for two decades — spoke at a press conference on Sunday. “It gave me an appreciation for people who look alike. “I learned that you have to be an incredibly strong person physically and mentally to survive in that creature,” he said.
“Charlie’s physical movement is confined to his home space of his bed. His story is being told behind closed doors. He is a light in a dark place. I think it’s poetic that the trauma he carries is reflected in the weight of his body.
“I had to learn to navigate in a completely new way. I developed muscles I didn’t know existed. At the end of the day when all the equipment was removed I felt a sense of vertigo, as you would feel going down a boat to the docks in Venice.
The film also stars Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau and Samantha Morton. Aronofsky said he felt “deep emotion” when he first saw Hunter’s play in New York. But the director needed 10 more years to make the film because it took me around 10 years to act. [it],” he said.
“Casting Charlie was a huge challenge for a number of reasons. I considered everyone, all kinds of actors. Every movie star on earth. But none of it really clicked, it didn’t move me, it just didn’t feel right. Two years ago, I caught a trailer for a low-budget Brazilian movie starring Brendan, and a lightbulb went off.
Fraser, best known for his roles in The Mummy, George of the Jungle and Gods and Monsters, spoke about his career and said the role was his biggest challenge.
“I was different in them [George of the Jungle] in days. My journey to where I am now has been about exploring as many characters as I can, which has been the biggest challenge for me.
“I think Charlie is the most heroic person I’ve ever played, because his power is to see the good in someone else and bring it out in them. In the process, he’s on a journey of salvation.
Hunter, who adapted the screenplay, recalls being a university teacher when he first wrote the play 12 years ago, pleading with his students to write something truthful and honest. “I got these wonderful, beautiful things out of it. I wanted to write a story about an English teacher who is desperately trying to connect with a young person … I think literature is always steeped in that, and I want Charlie to be a writer, an avid reader. I liked
Aronofsky added: “In the last few years, a lot of us have lost so much. There’s been such a division in human connection. Cinema is about human connection. It’s about the opportunity to slip into someone else’s shoes and have two hours of empathy and someone else’s mind, which I think the world needs.”
“Lifelong social media lover. Falls down a lot. Creator. Devoted food aficionado. Explorer. Typical troublemaker.”