‘Mean Girls’ actor Daniel Franzese recently talked about Brendan Fraser’s role in the upcoming movie ‘The Whale,’ which happens to be a 400-pound gay man who wants to reconnect with his teenage daughter.
In a recent interview with People, Franzese admitted that he feels conflicted about it saying,
“Seeing him get up so modest in Venice [Film Festival] and have that moment, I was very happy for him. He’s a lovely man. And it’s great. But why? Why go up there and wear a fat suit to play a 400-pound queer man?”
The 44-year-old actor explained that it felt unwarranted, considering that the LGBTQ+ community and plus size actors face difficulty when looking for a career opportunity that is as impactful as a film by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and A24.
“To finally have a chance to be in a prestige film that might be award-nominated, where stories about people who look like us are being told? That’s the dream,” Franzese expressed.
The actor further stated,
“The biggest problem we have right now in our industry is that people like me and my colleagues can’t really sell movies overseas if we are actually queer because the world is homophobic.
Even if America is ready for a gay person in the lead like that, they have a hard time selling the movie overseas, so they get scared.”
Meanwhile, Fraser shared in an interview with Vanity Fair that he is taking his role in ‘The Whale’ with utmost care expressing,
“I learned quickly that it takes an incredibly strong person inside that body to be that person. That seemed fitting and poetic and practical to me, all at once.”
‘The Whale’ tells the story of Charlie (Fraser) who left his family for a male partner, and eventually seeks to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter Elle (Sadie Sink) after his partner’s demise.
Moreover, the psychological drama film is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on December 9.
Source: pinknews.co.uk
He has a point on other countries being anti-gay and homophobic. Yet studios seem to bow to them.