WATCH: Tearful Brendan Fraser Receives 6-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival Amid Career Comeback

Candice OrtizSep 5th, 2022, 1:16 pm
 

Actor Brendan Fraser has stepped back into the spotlight with his first lead role in over a decade, and the film’s reception at a weekend premiere moved him to tears.

Fraser is perhaps best know for his role in the hit trilogy The Mummy. He has avoided the limelight for years after numerous injuries and personal setbacks saw his career decline.

In his new film, The Whale, Fraser stars as a reclusive 600-pound man who is attempting to mend a broken relationship with his daughter, who is played by Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink.

The film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, premiered at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend, and the crowd’s reaction is giving it Oscars buzz.

After the credits rolled in Venice, those in attendance reacted to the film with a six-minute standing ovation that its cast on its feet. Fraser stoically sat in amazement.

Aronofsky motioned for Fraser to stand up as the applause grew louder. The actor fought back tears as he glanced around at his co-stars.

After he began to cry, Fraser took a singular bow and said, “Thank you.”

Fraser’s career began a slowdown after The Mummy series wrapped in 2008.

Stunt work for the films resulted in a series of surgeries and longterm pain. The actor gained a significant amount of weight.

Fraser later spoke out about an alleged sexual assault by then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk. Berk insisted a detailed interaction cited by Fraser as he entered the #MeToo conversation was merely a “joke.”

Fraser co-stars in Martin Scorsese’s much-anticipated and upcoming historical film Killers of the Flower Moon. It is scheduled to be released next May following a series of delays.

The movie also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro.

Listen above, via Ramin Setoodeh on Twitter.

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