Brendan Fraser will star in “The Whale”.
The 52-year-old actor will star as Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s play.
The plot follows Charlie, a middle aged 600 pound man as he attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
The couple fell out when Charlie abandoned his family for his gay lover who later died. He then turned to compulsive eating because of his grief, which caused his significant weight gain.
“The Whale” premiered on stage in 2012 and received critical acclaim, winning a GLAAD Media Award and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play. Hunter adapts the script and is proud to see the play come to the big screen.
He said: “Adapting my play to a script has been a real labor of love for me.
“This story is deeply personal and I am very grateful that it will have the chance to reach a wider audience.
“I’ve been a fan of Darren ever since I saw ‘Requiem for a Dream’ when I was a freshman in college writing my first pieces, and I’m so grateful that he brings his talent and vision singular to this film.
The project marks Darren’s first film since “Mother!” in 2017 and he previously explained how he wasn’t sure Jennifer Lawrence could star in the horror film.
