Brendan Fraser Used Five Bags of Ice a Day to Stay Cool During Filming of 'The Whale'

Released last week, Brendan Fraser‘s return in The Whale is now one of the most talked-about performances of the year. The Darren Aronofsky-directed film chronicles the life of Charlie, a house-ridden 600 lb English teacher. While teaching virtually with his camera covered, Charlie struggles to salvage his relationship with his estranged daughter.

Despite gaining weight for the role, Fraser relied on prosthetics to complete his striking visual transformation and faithfully portray the character. In a recent interview with Variety, Fraser and prosthetics makeup designer Adrien Morot talked about the dramatic transformation that has many talking about The Whale.

Morot shared that he relied on 3D printing technological advancements to print the suit and streamlined the application process to four hours. The advancements ensured that shooting time was not majorly affected but was incredibly testing for Brendan Fraser due to the intense heat he faced while wearing the prosthetic suit. Aside from being outfitted with a racecar driver cooling system, Fraser required five large bags of ice per day just to get through filming. “It’s those big bags you get at gas stations. I think we went through four or five per day,” said Adrien Morot.

Sharing his experience filming The Whale, Fraser said, “It started in the early winter of 2021. With a test that took six hours to get into. I had to get the tactile experience of actually wearing the gear. I had to learn how to ambulate because Charlie’s mobility is limited. It informed us a great deal about what was possible, what would work and what wasn’t working.”

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