Brendan Fraser breaks down in tears as The Whale gets a 6-minute standing ovation in Venice

Among those spotted inside the Sala Grande Theater were Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Nick Kroll and Hillary Clinton employee Huma Abedin, who was sitting a few rows behind Fraser and shed as many tears as he did. Several other people inside the theater also broke a handkerchief during the film’s heartbreaking final scenes.

Fraser hugged several Aronofsky during the ovation. He tried to leave the stage at one point, but the flowing applause was too loud, and he stayed longer and bowed.

“Whale” stars Fraser as an obese man who struggles to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter, played by Sadie Sink, a Stranger Things singer. The supporting cast also includes Hong Chao, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins. The film is based on the play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter, who adapted the theatrical script to feature Aronofsky.

To play the main character in the film, Fraser wore a prosthetic suit that added between 50 and 300 pounds given the scene. The actor spent up to six hours in the makeup chair each day to fully transform into the character.

In an interview ahead of the film’s premiere in Venice, Fraser shared that his synthetic suit was “cumbersome, not quite comfortable,” adding: “The torso piece was like a long-sleeved straitjacket, sprayed by hand, to look identical as with human skin, down to Hand pierced hair.

“I developed muscles I didn’t know I had,” Fraser told reporters at the Venice press conference about wearing the prosthetic suit.

“I even got dizzy at the end of the day when I had all the hardware removed; it was like getting off the pier on a boat in Venice. [sense of] crispy. She gave me appreciation for those whose bodies are the same. You need to be an incredibly strong person, both mentally and physically, to live in this physical being.”

in review it Of “The Whale” from Venice, variety film critic Owen Gleiberman called Fraser “smarter, shrewd, and more frightening than he’s ever been”, adding that he delivers “a vivid, intensely moving performance.”

“The Whale” marks the premiere of Aronofsky’s tumultuous Venice, which has a rich history with the prestigious festival. While he stumbled on the first gun with the premiere of “The Fountain,” he made a comeback in 2008 when “Gladiator” won the Golden Lion. “Black Swan” was one of the major hits at the 2010 Venice Film Festival – and won a Mila Kunis Award for Emerging Actor – while “Mother!” It was all anyone could talk about at the 2017 festival.

Fraser became a superstar in action movies with the 1997 movie “George of the Jungle” and the box office movie “The Mummy,” but gave up his best-man status in 2010, taking on smaller roles, including one on TV “The Affairs.”

Although Fraser had a supporting role in Steven Soderbergh’s “No Sudden Move” last year, “The Whale” marks a massive comeback for the actor in his first starring role in a movie since 2013’s “Breakout.” On Fraser’s upcoming agenda is Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” His role as Garfield Lynns/Firefly in the DC tentpole “Batgirl” will no longer be considered as Warner Bros. canceled. movie version.

A24 The Whale will be released in theaters December 9.