Brendan Fraser made his comeback with Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. And now, the Toronto International Film Festival has just announced that they will be honouring Fraser with the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance for his role in the film. Previous recipients of the award include Jessica Chastain, Anthony Hopkins, and Joaquin Phoenix.
The Whale is the film set to put Fraser back in a leading role. The film was originally announced in January 2021, with Aronofsky directing and Fraser taking the lead role. Shortly after the announcement of the project, Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, and Samantha Morton joined the cast.
The screenplay for the film was written by Samuel D Hunter, who also wrote the original 2012 play. The Whale tells the story of a 600-pound man named Charlie, played by Fraser, who is struggling to try and reconnect with his teenage daughter, Sink, after he abandoned her and her mother to be with a same-sex partner.
The Whale is set to premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 4. The Whale will also be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. There is no theatrical release date for the project yet.