Dwayne Johnson says he’s ‘rooting’ for Brendan Fraser amid praise for The Whale

Maanya Sachdeva
·3 min read
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There has been an outpouring of love and support for Brendan Fraser on Twitter, following the first screening of his new film The Whale.

The psychological drama from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday (4 September).

Fraser, who hasn’t had a lead role since straight-to-DVD thriller Breakout in 2013, underwent a dramatic physical transformation to play the part of a reclusive English teacher, living with severe obesity, in Aronofsky’s film.

Following the film’s premiere this weekend, many are speculating that an Oscar nomination is imminent for Fraser. In fact, the film was so well-received that it earned a “six-minute standing ovation” at the premiere, which apparently left Fraser visibly emotional.

Now, celebrities including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have expressed support for the 53-year-old actor, after videos of Fraser at the screening were posted online.

Retweeting Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh’s video from The Whale’s premiere, Johnson wrote that he was “so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan”.

“He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role,” he continued, crediting Fraser for “kickstarting my Hollywood career”.

Johnson’s message further read: “Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky.”

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

Two Broke Girls star Kat Dennings also appeared to react to Fraser’s success with The Whale.

In a tweet on Monday, she said: “I was told in a meeting once that I look exactly like Brendan Fraser and not a day goes by when I don’t think about it in a good way.”

After The Whale, Fraser 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.