Brendan Fraser ‘sobbed’ during six-minute standing ovation at Venice screening of The Whale

Brendan Fraser had an emotional response to receiving a standing ovation for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale at the ongoing Venice Film Festival.

Fraser underwent a dramatic physical transformation to play the role of a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity, in the new psychological drama from the Black Swan director.

Many were hoping the film could be the one to launch a comeback for the Mummy actor, 53, who hasn’t featured in a lead role since the straight-to-DVD thriller Breakout in 2013.

Following the film’s premiere at Venice Film Festival, many journalists are saying an Oscar nomination could now be on the cards for Fraser. In fact, the film was so well-received that it received a “six-minute standing ovation” at the premiere, which apparently left Fraser visibly emotional.

Variety’s co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh uploaded a video clip of the cast from the screening early on Monday morning (5 September), writing that Fraser “sobbed” during the six-minute-long standing ovation for his performance in The Whale.

Setoodeh’s caption read: “Brendan Fraser is back – and he sobbed during the #Venezia79 six-minute standing ovation for #TheWhale.”

In a follow-up tweet, he revealed that Fraser tried to leave the theatre at one point, but the crowd’s applause “made him stay”.

Dwayne Johnson retweeted Setoodeh’s first tweet, writing that it “makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan”.

“[Fraser] supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career,” Johnson revealed, adding that he was “rooting” for Fraser’s success.

Hilary Clinton’s chief of staff, who is reportedly dating Bradley Cooper, Huma Abedin was spotted in the audience “wiping away tears during the standing ovation,” Setoodeh also wrote on Instagram.

According to others in attendance, when the film’s credits rolled, the entire room broke into applause when the actor’s name appeared on screen.

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Rob Ruggio wrote after the screening ended: “A huge round of applause for Brendan Fraser when his name appeared in the end credits of The Whale.”

Christina Jeurling Birro added: “I’ll leave you with this until the embargo lifts: there was a huge round of applause for Brendan Fraser when his name came up on the screen during the end credit. And a lot of tears being wiped…

After The Whale, he will appear alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s next film Killers of the Flower Moon.

The Whale, which also stars Stranger Things actor Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton and Hong Chau, will be released in the US on 9 December. A UK release date is yet to be announced.

Read The Independent’s four-star review of The Whale here.