Brendan Fraseris back with an emotional new role.

The Whalepremiered at theVenice International Film Festival, where Fraser gotemotional onstage during a standing ovationafter the screening.

Fraser toldThe Hollywood Reporterwhy the role was meaningful for him to tackle at this point in his career.

Brendan Fraser inThe Whale(2022).Courtesy of A24

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

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“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, and that’s what I wanted,” he said. “By far and away, I think that Charlie is the most heroic man I’ve ever played because his superpower is to see the good in others and bring that out in them. And in that process, he’s on his journey of salvation.”

From L to R: Brendan Fraser, Hong Chau, Darren Aronofsky, Sadie Sink and Samuel D. Hunter.John Phillips/Getty

VENICE, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 04: (L-R) Brendan Fraser, Hong Chau, director Darren Aronofsky, Sadie Sink and Samuel D. Hunter attend “The Whale” & “Filming Italy Best Movie Achievement Award” red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 04, 2022 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)

He added, “I think it’s poetic that the trauma he carries is manifest in the physical weight of his body. I needed to learn to absolutely move in a new way. I developed muscles I did not know that I had. I even felt a sense of vertigo, when at the end of the day all the appliances were removed, just as you would feel stepping off the boat onto the dock here in Venice — that undulating feeling.”

“I say this because he gave me an appreciation for those whose bodies are similar, because I learned that you need to be an incredibly strong person physically and mentally to inhabit that physical being,” said Fraser. “And I think that is Charlie, also.”

The Whaleis in theaters Dec. 9.

source: people.com