Brendan Fraser Says Darren Aronofsky Was Looking for ‘an Actor Who Hadn’t Been Seen in a While’ for ‘The Whale’ ‘and That Was Me’

variety.com:

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor At the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia Sunday, Brendan Fraser, who won an Oscar for his work in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” revealed the real reason why the director chose him for the role.

Fraser said Aronofsky was looking for “an actor who hadn’t been seen in a while” to play Charlie, the reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher, “and that was me.” The actor also announced that he just wrapped shooting Anthony Maras’ “Pressure,” a ticking-clock thriller based on the true story of the 72 hours leading up to D-Day.

Fraser plays Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower in the film. “Hence the short hair. It is all growing back, thank you very much.” Andrew Scott plays a meteorologist in the film, which focuses on the crucial role that weather forecasting played in the decisions leading up to D-Day. “All these conversations that weekend before, from the Thursday onward, were not inconsequential, and definitely made me appreciate a rather, you know, otherwise nerdy, inconsequential thing, like looking at your phone and wondering ‘What’s the weather going to be like.'” He praised Maras for being a “fantastic collaborator,” as was Aronofsky. “The best directors are the ones who I think are collaborators and who create an ensemble and who have a real sense of community and the good ideas coming from that,” he said.

He added that Maras “creates the reality of a scene to give an audience a feeling as if they’re a fly on the wall, and we’re seeing this happen in real time.