Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Brendan Fraser Tears Up During Six Minute Standing Ovation For His Performance In 'The Whale' In Venice

Brendan Fraser Tears Up During Six Minute Standing Ovation For His Performance In 'The Whale' In Venice
Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images; @RaminSetoodeh/Twitter

The Venice Film Festival has only just begun and already there's Oscar talk bouncing around the screening rooms, specifically for actor Brendan Fraser.

Though he's been active on television, Fraser, once an A-lister and '90s heartthrob, has been all but absent from the big screen in recent years. But his headlining performance in Darren Aronofsky's new film The Whale, though controversial, just might change that.


Social media has become captivated by a video showing Fraser tearing up as the Venice crowd thunderously applauded him for six full minutes at the conclusion of The Whale—and his emotion is so palpable it's hard not to tear up right along with him.

Fraser rose to prominence in the '90s as a muscle-bound hunk in teen comedies like Encino Man and George of the Jungle. He soon moved on to a mix of action blockbusters like The Mummy franchise and prestigious Oscar-bait fare like Gods and Monsters and 2005's Best Picture Oscar winner Crash.

But while he never stopped working, his status as a leading man soon began to erode. Multiple injuries from stunt work saw him in and out of hospitals for nearly seven years and unable to maintain his previously buff physique.

And he told GQ he suspects that going public about an incident of sexual harassment he suffered resulted in him being blacklisted in certain parts of Hollywood.

By all accounts, The Whale, an adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter's play of the same name, is a gate-crashing return to prominence for the actor that just might leave all of his tribulations firmly in the past.

Fraser plays Charlie, a reclusive English teacher who weighs 600 lbs and is trying to reconnect with his daughter, played by Stranger Things' Sadie Sink, despite being emotionally incapable of leaving his home.

In an interview, Aronofsky said it took him 10 years to get The Whale made, mainly because he couldn't find the right actor for Charlie. After looking at "every single movie star on the planet," he rediscovered Fraser in a low-budget Brazilian film and, as he put it, "a lightbulb went off."

The film has not been without its controversies. Activists for fat acceptance have called both the film and Fraser's casting fatphobic, especially because Fraser wears extensive "fat suit" prosthetics in the film.

Others have countered that the humanity of the story and the realities of being an obese person the film depicts supersede these criticisms—especially since the play is based on Hunter's own experiences with depression and "self-medicating with food."

Regardless of the controversy, the outpouring of support for Fraser and his tearful standing ovation has certainly tugged on social media's heartstrings







As for Fraser, he's taking his new moment in the spotlight in stride. He told the press in advance of the premiere, “I’m just trying to stay in today."

More from Entertainment/celebrities

JD Vance; Jen Psaki
Johannes Simon/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Vance Gets Brutal Reminder After Accusing Jen Psaki Of 'Attacking' People For Praying Following School Shooting

Vice President JD Vance was criticized after he lashed out at MSNBC host Jen Psaki for saying that "prayer is not freaking enough" to end school shootings after a shooter killed two children and wounded 17 others during the first week of classes at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

Psaki spoke out on X shortly after the shooting occured, to stress that "thoughts and prayers" don't actually address or prevent mass shootings and gun violence overall:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @andydouglas.trumpboy's TikTok video; President Donald Trump
@andydouglas.trumpboy/TikTok; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Video Of Little Boy Sobbing After Finding Out Trump Is A Real Person Goes Viral—And We Totally Get It

Whether it was Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, or some other important facet of childhood, most of us found out when we were kids that something we loved did not exist, and it was absolutely devastating and world-changing.

But imagine there being something that you deeply disliked or feared, only for you to find out that it actually exists on the same plane and in the same timeline as you.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @originalsugarphly's TikTok video
@originalsugarphly/TikTok

Woman Stunned After Best Friend Of 23 Years Ends Friendship Over Her 'Mom Shorts'

We will all have friends who come into our lives for a reason, for a season, or for a lifetime. There are those situational friendships, like from work or school, that dissolve when we exit that space, and there are friendships that might form from knowing the same people.

Then there are those tried-and-true friendships that we think will truly stand the test of time—but even those sometimes fracture under pressure. And sometimes for the most ridiculous reasons.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @nurse_xtina129's TikTok
@nurse_xtina129/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate By Putting Out Small Fire At Dunkin' Donuts After Workers Ignored It

Imagine hitting that afternoon slump and seeking out your favorite caffeinated beverage: a highlight in an otherwise dumpster fire kind of day. But then you arrive at your coffeehouse of choice—and there's literally a fire.

TikToker Cristina Conklin was waiting in line for a beverage at Dunkin' Donuts in Warwick, New York, when she became either a villain or a hero, depending on who was watching her TikTok video.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from David Dickson's TikTok videos
@new.beginnings639/TikTok

56-Year-Old Man Leaves The Internet In Shock After Showing Off His Mexican Facelift

Between constant conversations about generations not looking their age, and a resurgence of "skinnytok" and "beautytok," there's this renewed pressure for everyone to look their best, for them to refresh their look, and most importantly, to look a decade younger than they actually are.

Stories have been circulating about Americans going to Mexico, specifically Guadalajara, in search of quality and affordable plastic surgery to give them a fresh look, but patients are walking away looking much younger than you might expect.

Keep ReadingShow less