Brendan Fraser Tackles Self-Harm Through 'Overeating' in 'The Whale'

Brendan Fraser had to limit the number of overeating scenes he could perform in The Whale as his character attempts to self-harm with food.

Fraser stars as a 600-pound man in the new drama, directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Samuel D. Hunter, who also penned the play that it's based on.

While The Whale is predominantly a story of a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, much of the talk ahead of its release has been related to the main character's weight. Fraser's Charlie is dealing with the loss of his life partner, and seemingly resorts to eating to deal with the pain.

"He's not eating because he's hungry, which is what makes the point of him being a person who lives with obesity, who has been harming himself by overeating for too long," Fraser told Newsweek.

"His health has been challenged as a result, but that's not important to him. He realizes more so, needing to reconnect with his estranged daughter." Fraser's daughter in The Whale is played by Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink.

Moments within The Whale show Fraser's character vociferously eating when dealing with emotional pain. Fraser says that no type of training took place to perform this on screen.

"No, no. It was important to limit the number of takes so that you can authentically perform with a level of appetite that fits with Charlie's thinking," Fraser said.

The audience can almost hear every bite, chew and slurp when Charlie eats, which director Aronofsky puts down to the behind-the-scenes team. "[The sounds] come from the sound-effects team and from Brendan actually doing it, but we had a great team. It's very subtle work, but hopefully it makes things feel a little bit more deep inside," he told Newsweek.

The movie has been widely discussed for months, after impressing on the film festival circuit, but it's also been criticized for its use of prosthetics and portrayal of "fat people."

Fraser and Aronofsky have previously responded to the criticism in a conversation with Newsweek. Audiences will finally be able to form their own opinion as the awards-season contender is now out in movie theaters nationwide.

The story of The Whale was first performed on stage in 2012. Playwright Hunter penned that script, and a decade later, he's also bringing it to the big screen.

"I felt and continue to feel hugely protective of it," Hunter told Newsweek, explaining why he felt he had to be the one to adapt the script of the original.

"It comes from many personal places for me, and it felt vulnerable writing it, seeing it on the stage for the first time. Having it translated onto the screen, on this massive scale, is really anxiety-inducing."

Hunter and Aronofsky had originally met to discuss an adaptation of the play almost a decade ago, and eventually, The Whale the movie was born. Hunter was an ever-present during the three weeks of rehearsal, and during the shoot too. He watched first hand as Fraser brought his character to life.

"You can see Brendan telling the story with his eyes, which is such an incredible thing." Hunter continued, "I think Brendan has this ability to play so many different things simultaneously. He can play love and despair right next to one another, because in real life, they often aren't right next to one another."

The Whale marks Aronofsky's return to cinema, with his last effort being the divisive Mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence in 2017.

"It's hard to say why I choose projects," Aronofsky said. "It's more of a feeling. Sometimes you just have to trust that.

"For me, I just love the play [of The Whale]. I thought when I saw it, they were characters that were so different from me. But by the end of the play, I felt like they were family. And I wanted to give that experience to people in a cinema."

The Whale is now available to watch in theaters now nationwide.