Samuel D.Hunter Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Darren Aronofsky‘s Protozoa Pictures and Los Angeles Media Fund are launching a joint venture focused on commissioning and producing new live theater projects as well as co-producing and supporting larger productions.

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Gordon and Will Speck have signed a first look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop and produce feature films. The news comes in the wake of their feature take of children’s book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile grossing over $104M WW.

Brendan Fraser is the sixth heterosexual man to win a best actor Oscar for portraying a gay man.

Best ActorActor Brendan Fraser has made a triumphant return to the big screen, winning his first-ever Oscar in a coup few could have predicted just a few years back.Fraser received the Best Actor award for his role as Charlie, a reclusive English professor who weighs over 600 pounds and is struggling to reconnect with his daughter in the movie The Whale. The character is also dealing with the death of his partner, which caused him to gain weight and become isolated from his family, who rejected him after coming out.The Whale is based on the play of the same name by openly gay writer Samuel D.

Brendan Fraser took home the Academy Award for best actor on Sunday, and fans have said there is “no one more deserving”. The Oscar-winner, 54, earned the award for his role in Darren Aronofsky’s drama The Whale.

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com Brendan Fraser, the ’90s heartthrob who made a career comeback with his awards season run for “The Whale,” won the Oscar for best actor. An emotional Fraser got on stage and exclaimed, “so this is what the multiverse looks like!” He then continued down a nautical-themed speech thanking his cast, crew and family. “I’m grateful to Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship ‘The Whale,'” Fraser said. “That was written by Samuel D. Hunter who is our lighthouse. Gentleman, you laid your whale-sized hearts bare so that we could see into your souls like no one else could do. It is my honor to be named alongside you in this category. I want to tell you that only whales can swim at the depth of talent of Hong Chau [fellow nominee].”

Oscar at tonight’s (March 12) ceremony for his role in The Whale.The ceremony took place in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre, with Everything Everywhere All At Once leading the nominations going into the show.Fraser was named Best Actor for his role as Charlie in The Whale. “So this is what the multiverse looks like!” he joked as he collected the award.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Brendan Fraser’s massive popularity has revitalized the 54-year-old actor’s career. It has brought him to his first-ever Oscar nomination for best actor for his towering performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” For this week’s video episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we sat down with Brendan Fraser to discuss the “The Brenaissance” and what the past year has meant to him. We also played a game called “Who’s Babe Is It Anyway?” — where Fraser guesses which of his former co-stars said a particular line. How well do you think he did? Watch the full video above. The podcast, with added guest Cate Blanchett, the Oscar-nominated actress of “Tár,” will be released on Friday.

On Sunday, Brendan Fraser took home the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. The 54-year-old star beat out Adam Sandler, Austin Butler, Bill Nighy and Colin Farrell to take home the trophy for his powerful performance in “The Whale”, and was already in tears as he took the stage to accept the award.

Brendan Fraser took home the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. The 54-year-old star beat out Adam Sandler, Austin Butler, Bill Nighy and Colin Farrell to take home the trophy for his powerful performance in and was already in tears as he took the stage to accept the award.«I'm smiling and breathing, that's half the job!» he joked with the crowd as he took a deep breath.«I will treasure this, but never more than how I treasured… my SAG card that I earned in 1991,» Fraser shared. «It made me feel like I belonged.

Brendan Fraser will receive the Spotlight Award, Actor at the Palm Springs Film Festival’s awards ceremony, taking place in person at the Palm Springs Convention Center on January 5. The award comes in recognition of the actor’s performance in the critically acclaimed A24 drama The Whale from filmmaker Darren Aronofsky.

From its triumphant world premiere (with seven-minute standing ovation) at the Venice Film Festival, A24 opens Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale in theaters this weekend amid a whirl of Oscar buzz around star Brendan Fraser. The former action star carries the psychological drama as Charlie, a reclusive and severely obese English teacher trying to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.

After facing backlash for wearing a fat suit, celebrities such as Chris Sullivan and Sarah Paulson opened up about taking on their respective roles.

Brendan Fraser became emotional as he received a massive standing ovation for his new film The Whale. The acclaimed actor, 53, was a massive star in the 90s and early 2000s, having appeared in some of the biggest action films of the decade. However he took a long break from acting after suffering multiple injuries, going through a divorce and battling with depression, as well as speaking out about an alleged sexual assault.

Brendan Fraser was the recipient of a very rare event at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival.

Director Darren Aronofsky embraced Brendan Fraser as the lights came up, the credits rolled, and applause rang through the auditorium at the UK premiere of their latest film, The Whale, at the London Film Festival Tuesday evening.

Brendan Fraser will be honored at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival for his decades’ worth of contributions to American cinema. Going into the 38th annual festival, he is the 2023 recipient of its American Riviera Award. Fraser will attend the event on Feb.

Clayton Davis “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story,” “White Noise” and “The Whale” are among the first films announced for this year’s Middleburg Film Festival in Virginia, celebrating its tenth anniversary. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” breakout star Stephanie Hsu will be given the Rising Star Award, for her incredible performance in The Daniels’ critically-acclaimed dramedy, which has generated awards buzz. The fest will also hold a special screening of the movie after its huge success, becoming A24’s first film to surpass $100 million. The entire festival will be held in person with screenings, conversations and events from Oct. 13-16. Opening the fest on Thursday is Netflix’s “White Noise” starring Adam Driver. Writer and director Noah Baumbach will return after bringing “Marriage Story” (2019), to accept the 10th Anniversary Spotlight Filmmaker Award.

The Whale at Toronto’s International Film Festival.The actor, best known for his role in The Mummy franchise, received a standing ovation at the festival’s tribute gala on Sunday (September 11), where he was presented with an award by The Whale director Darren Aronofsky.In his speech, Fraser said: “This is new for me. Normally I’m the guy at the podium who hands these things out.

Clayton Davis The love for Brendan Fraser continues to grow following his acclaimed turn in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” generating tons of Oscar buzz. “It’s the right actor, for the right part, at the right time,” Darren Aronofsky says in the Variety Studio presented by King’s Hawaiian at TIFF. While at the Toronto International Film Festival for the movie, Fraser, along with writer Samuel D. Hunter and his fellow cast members Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins, spoke with Variety about taking on the difficult role of a 600-pound man, which required up to four hours of prosthetics and makeup. “It was designed specifically to obey laws of gravity and physics,” Fraser says. “It wasn’t built for just a silhouette or a one-note joke.”

The Toronto Film Festival ushered in the fall awards season on Sunday evening with the first in-person edition of its Tribute Awards in three years at the city’s historic Fairmount Royal York Hotel.

Clayton Davis It’s more than prosthetics. More than the comeback. Brendan Fraser’s work as Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” is a profound performance for the ages. The A-list star that brought us “The Mummy” and “Encino Man” goes above and beyond the calling of an actor, showcasing the vulnerability of a broken, 600-pound man. Like Aronofsky’s resurrection of Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (2008), Frase delivers one of the best performances of the year. “The Whale” will surely land him an Oscar nomination for best actor. The drama is a stark, dour examination of regret and addiction, wrapped into the script written by Samuel D. Hunter, who adapts his play of the same name. Distributed by A24, “The Whale” tells the story of Charlie, am obese gay man who reconnects with his estranged 17-year-old daughter Ellie (played by Sadie Sink) after leaving her and her mother for his younger male lover.

The Toronto International Film Festival, unlike the Euro film fests, isn’t known as a place for standing ovations. As soon as those credits roll, they need to jump into a post-screening Q&A, clear the theater and get into the next screening.

Brendan Fraser fought back tears as “The Whale” received a passionate standing ovation at its Toronto International Film Festival premiere on Sunday. The crowd stood for roughly five minutes until festival organizers quieted the applause to begin a question and answer session with Fraser, director Darren Aronofsky, writer Samuel D. Hunter and cast members Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins. The reception was one of the strongest yet at this year’s festival, a gathering that has already included the premieres of Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” TIFF was set to be a big festival for Fraser even before “The Whale” screened to huge acclaim. The actor is receiving the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance at the 2022 festival, with TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey saying, “Brendan Fraser gives a performance of staggering depth, power, and nuance in ‘The Whale.’ This former Torontonian has been an action star, a screen comic, and a romantic lead. We’re thrilled to welcome him home as the actor behind one of the finest performances of the year.”

Brendan Fraser gets a hug from Sadie Sink at the premiere of The Whale during the 2022 Toronto Film Festival held at Royal Alexandra Theatre on Sunday (September 11) in Toronto, Canada.

In a triumphant world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale received a seven-minute standing ovation inside the Sala Grande this evening. Star Brendan Fraser was visibly moved as he was embraced by his director while extended applause rang throughout the auditorium.

Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood at the 79th Venice Film Festival was met with many tears.

#Venezia79 six-minute standing ovation for #TheWhale,” tweeted Ramin Setoodeh, Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, noting that the actor tried to leave the theater but the audience’s applause made him stay.After reaching a career high starring in “The Mummy” franchise and “George of the Jungle,” in many ways, some consider “The Whale” Fraser’s comeback moment that could quite possibly earn him an Oscar. The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay.

The Whale” at the Venice Film Festival is any indication, Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood will be met with plenty of cheers — and even more tears. When the credits rolled on the Darren Aronofsky drama, in which Fraser plays a 600-pound gay man confined to a wheelchair, the actor was overcome with emotion.Fraser sobbed throughout the six-minute standing ovation for the film, which will likely put him at the forefront of this year’s best actor Oscars race.Among those spotted inside the Sala Grande Theatre were Pheoebe Waller-Bridge, Nick Kroll and Hillary Clinton staffer Huma Abedin, who was seated a few rows behind Fraser and shed as many tears as he did. Many others inside the theater also broke out a handkerchief during the film’s heartbreaking final scenes.

Brendan Fraser suits up for the red carpet premiere of his new movie, The Whale, during the 2022 Venice Film Festival on Sunday (September 4) in Venice, Italy.

last few days; at least, that’s what Charlie assumes. Given his 600-pound girth, given his blood is pressure is at drop-dead levels, and given his apparently years-long project of slow-mo suicide, one has little reason to doubt him.Our first look at the man only confirms those suspicions.

By Crispian BalmerVENICE (Reuters) - U. S. actor Brendan Fraser, returning to the big screen as a leading man after a nine-year absence, said on Sunday playing the obese hero of "The Whale" was the biggest challenge of his career.

Brendan Fraser says the role of dangerously obese teacher Charlie in the upcoming The Whale is “the biggest challenge” of his career.

Brendan Fraser says transforming into a 600-pound man in "The Whale" took a major toll on him. Fraser, 53, plays Charlie, a reclusive English teacher nearing the end of his life. About a month into filming, the movie’s director, Darren Aronofsky, said that the actor was "all pedal and no gas." "I was feeling poorly — it would’ve been a failure," Fraser said in an interview with Vanity Fair.

The Whale star Brendan Fraser has discussed wearing a fat suit in the forthcoming film.The actor will be starring in Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of the play of the same name, playing a reclusive online English teacher living with life-threatening obesity.“I learned quickly that it takes an incredibly strong person inside that body to be that person,” Fraser told Vanity Fair of learning more about the condition and working with the Obesity Action Coalition.He added: “That seemed fitting and poetic and practical to me, all at once.”First look at Sadie Sink in Darren Aronofsky’s THE WHALE pic.twitter.com/C78aHlIUlZ— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) August 31, 2022Addressing recent controversy over actors such as Sarah Paulson wearing fat suits to play other characters, the play’s writer Samuel D. Hunter says The Whale is “a call for empathy”.Fraser added of his research: “I looked at other body suits that had been used in comedies over the years, usually for a one-note joke.“Whether intended or not, the joke is, it defies gravity.

Zack Sharf A24 stunned moviegoers in late July when it debuted the first look at Brendan Fraser in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” The drama, adapted from Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, features Fraser under pounds of prosthetics in order to play a man struggling with severe obesity. A new report on the film published by Vanity Fair confirms that Fraser’s prosthetics were created by Adrien Morot, who worked with the director on “Noah” and who also worked on “The Revenant” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Morot used a digital sculpture and a 3D printer to make Fraser’s prosthetic suit for “The Whale.” “I looked at other body suits that had been used in comedies over the years, usually for a one-note joke,” Fraser told Vanity Fair about the suit. “Whether intended or not, the joke is, it defies gravity. This was not that.”