Controversy Surrounding Brendan Fraser’s Role in ‘The Whale’
Credit: The Whale
Once again, we find ourselves in the midst of a debate over a straight actor portraying a gay character. This time, the spotlight is on Brendan Fraser, who has experienced a career resurgence thanks to his performance in Doom Patrol. Currently, Fraser is receiving accolades for his work in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. Adapted from Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, the story follows Charlie, a 600-pound reclusive English teacher who decides to eat himself to death after the tragic loss of his gay lover. Despite his unhealthy obsession with binge eating, Charlie tries to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter for one last chance at redemption.
Critical Acclaim for Fraser’s Performance
The film has earned a solid Rotten Tomatoes score, and critics have been particularly impressed with Fraser’s performance. Johnny Oleksinski from the New York Post encapsulates the general sentiment, stating, “Fraser, so good, takes what could be a joke, a flat tragedy, or even a lecture about weight and imbues it with gorgeous humanity.”
Credit: Moonlight
The Ongoing Debate Over Straight Actors in Gay Roles
Despite the praise, not everyone is pleased with Fraser’s casting. In recent years, gay actors have criticized the casting of straight actors in gay roles. Films like Brokeback Mountain, Moonlight, and Boys Don’t Cry have faced backlash for not casting queer actors in lead roles, even though the performances have been widely praised. Interestingly, gay actors like Jodie Foster, Wentworth Miller, Matt Bomer, and Zachary Quinto have played straight roles without facing similar criticism. The crux of the matter is that there’s no definitive proof that a gay or straight actor is inherently better suited for a specific role, and the aforementioned gay actors have all demonstrated their talents in their respective roles.
Voices of Dissent: Guy Branum and Daniel Franzese
However, actors like Guy Branum, who stars in the Universal flop Bros, take issue with Fraser’s casting. In an interview with PRIDE at the Bros premiere, Branum expressed his concerns:
Credit: Bros
“I think that the source material of The Whale is problematic. I think that it’s trying to use extreme fatness as a metaphor for gay pain. And as an actual fat gay person, I feel like my life doesn’t need to be a metaphor for somebody else’s pain. I also have real problems with the fact that they cast a straight actor who is not very fat, and [who] used prosthetics to represent fatness, in the film. I think it allows people to talk about that character as an object in a way that wouldn’t be possible if it were an actual fat person who you had to look in the eyes. We all want Brendan Fraser to have a great comeback. We all want this moment for him, but we also need to think about how much we are representing queer life and fat life through straight actors or prosthetics.”
Branum isn’t alone in his criticism. Daniel Franzese of Mean Girls fame shares similar concerns. While acknowledging Fraser’s deserving comeback, Franzese questions in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “Why go up there and wear a fat suit to play a 400-lb. queer man?” This debate will likely continue, but it’s important to remember that the essence of acting is to portray characters that differ from one’s own life experiences. Until any laws dictate otherwise, both Darren Aronofsky and Brendan Fraser have done nothing wrong.
